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| Shoaib Akhtar: ‘They could at least have called me and asked me to go through a proper fitness test’ © Getty Images |
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Shoaib Akthar has expressed his disappointed after being excluded from the Pakistan squad for the West Indies tour and has hit back at the selectors, saying he was not given a chance to prove his fitness before the team was picked.”I am very upset and disappointed that they have not picked me for the West Indies tour,” Shoaib told , a Mumbai-based tabloid. “Missing the Indian tour due to injury was a big blow for me and I was very keen to make a comeback in this series. They could at least have called me and asked me to go through a proper fitness test and medical check-up before taking a decision.”Shoaib, 29, was not part of the 17-member squad announced on Monday, despite showing an impressive return to form with 5 for 23 in a Twenty20 game, as the selectors felt he was overweight and needed more time to regain full match fitness. However, he felt that the selectors’ assessment was a bit over the top. “I don’t think I am overweight,” he said. “It is just that I have not played enough first-class games since recovering from my injury because the domestic season has come to an end. But in the matches that I have played I have bowled my full overs and taken wickets.”
