Malik to undergo surgery to correct action

Shoaib Malik: set to go under the knife © Getty Images Enlarge

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan allrounder, is set to undergo a shoulder operation in South Africa next week to try to improve his suspect bowling action.

"Malik's problem is that due to those two accidents his arm tendons have become loose," Shaharyar Khan, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) told Reuters. "So when he bowls one gets the impression there is a problem with his action. The operation is being carried out to loosen his tendons so that his arm extension improves and he faces no more problems with his action."

Malik, 24, has been reported twice owing to problems caused by the after-effects of two road accidents which have limited the mobility of his arm extension. Malik was reported for his suspect action during the Paktel Cup one-day tournament in October 2004 but the Pakistan board suggested that the kink was the result of an accident which Malik suffered a year before that. Malik's action was cleared last May after he went to South Africa to have his action tested.