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'I'm being pushed into mental problem'
Shoaib Akhtar, who has pulled out of the India tour due to a injury, has accused "some people" of "pushing" him "into a mental problem".
Pakistani quickie Shoaib Akhtar, who has pulled out of the upcoming Indian tour due to a hamstring injury, has accused "some people" of "pushing" him "into a mental problem".
Shoaib pulled out on Friday, a day before the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the squad for the tour beginning February 28 that comprises three Tests and six One-Day Internationals.
"This is strange that I am being forced to accompany the team to India when I am not fit to play... what kind of professionalism is this?" Shoaib told IANS.
The 29-year-old said he was disturbed by reports that he was avoiding the Indian tour because he feared poor performance there.
"Tell me just one person who has performed excellently throughout his life in any field, what to talk about cricket!" he said at a gymnasium in nearby Rawalpindi, when asked if he was afraid of a poor performance.
"Ask my doctors and they will tell you how fit I am. Even the board doctors have examined me... I am having physical problems and some people are pushing me into a mental problem," said an apparently disturbed Akhtar.
Shoaib has been in all kinds of trouble since he left the team's recent tour of Australia because of the hamstring injury.
He then refused to play a domestic match to prove his fitness, as PCB ordered, further annoying the officials and inviting the media wrath.
On the other hand, the PCB officials had been quoted in the media as saying that Shoaib was not going to India fearing poor performance.
Shoaib, known as the "Rawalpindi Express" and widely regarded as the world's fastest bowler, had performed in patches on the Australian tour.
Former captain Wasim Akram has defended Shoaib and wondered how could he perform with an injury.
"How can a boy perform when he is not fit," Akram told Geo television.
The Pakistan cricket team is scheduled to play three Tests and six ODIs during a 45-day tour to India, their first since 1999.
Javed Miandad, another former captain, said that consistency and maturity was missing from the team's performance.
