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Bangalore: Is Shoaib Akhtar continuing to be unfit due to his indisciplined lifestyle?
He has let Pakistan down by not being able to deliver his best despite being their strike bowler.
Shoaib's take on the issue is: with fast bowlers, injuries are bound to occur repeatedly.
However, many feel that since he puts a lot of strain into his bowling, he should also look after himself well.
According to sources close to the Pakistan team, Shoaib does not follow the rules of the team and is often seen doing late nights. Despite being unfit, he did visit quite a few discos while in Kolkata. In fact, some of the dailies in Kolkata had gone to town with pictures showing Shoaib shaking a leg with pretty ladies.
In New Delhi too, he had apparently picked up a chest infection due to his late-night outings.
One of the reasons why former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq wanted Shoaib out of the team was his indisciplined lifestyle. Inzamam felt he had repeatedly let Pakistan down with his fitness problems.
It is understood that Shoaib refuses to get enough sleep or warm-up before a match. And when he trains, he tends to push the limits.
Younis Khan is also not appreciative of Shoaib's approach to the game. During an interview he had made it clear that his team did not solely depend on the fast bowler.
Captaincy dreams
However, Shoaib himself has often been quite vocal about his claims that he is the one who can destroy the Indian batting on his own. Time and again, he has also been telling people close to him that he should be captaining Pakistan for all his experience.
When Younis was asked to comment on Shoaib signing up for a Hindi film, he remarked: "It is his life. He is free to do what he wants."
After bowling the initial overs in Bangalore, Shoaib suffered back pain. An MRI scan did not reveal any injury, but he has been experiencing muscle spasms all the same.
Despite being unfit, he did visit quite a few discos while in Kolkata. Some of the dailies in Kolkata had gone to town with pictures showing Shoaib shaking a leg with pretty ladies.
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