'Shoaib has a point to prove' - Ashraf

Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, has asked Shoaib Akhtar to fulfil his role as a senior player and prove his critics wrong with a forceful performance during the tour of India, which begins in the first week of November.

National selector Saleem Jaffer, who followed Shoaib's progress in a domestic match, cleared him for selection and the fast bowler was likely to be included in the squad for the five-ODI and three-Test series in India.

"The tour of India is certainly the most important assignment for our team and is perhaps even more important than the World Cup," Ashraf told the News. "I expect that all the players, including Shoaib Akhtar, would be at their best behaviour and give 100%.

"I hope that Shoaib will be a changed man on the tour of India," Ashraf said. "It is his last chance and we all hope that this time he would not waste it. He also has a point to prove and should give his best to silence his critics who believe he is a spent force."

The fourth ODI between Pakistan and South Africa in Multan marks the end of Shoaib's 13-match ban for a number of breaches of discipline, including a dressing-room spat with Mohammad Asif before the World Twenty20 in South Africa. He will be available for selection for the final ODI in Lahore on October 29.