Shoaib confident of touring England

Shoaib Akhtar, having successfully undergone knee surgery in Australia, is confident of returning to action within six weeks and regaining full fitness before the tour of England later this year.

In his regular diary to the website bigstarcricket.com, Shoaib praised the work of Dr David Young who operated on him. Shoaib also dismissed reports about a disease in his knee and stressed that his injury was caused by general wear and tear. He said that he would begin his rehab immediately and should take at least three weeks to recover properly.

Shoaib wrote: "The main problem was fluid and floating bone in my knees. Dr. Young cleaned them up and I am very grateful for the brilliant job he's done on them. It's all good news as David told me that I could carry on playing for another five or six years if I wanted to. It's impossible to predict the future and although I would like to think I could still be playing when I'm 35, nobody really knows what's going to happen."

Shoaib missed out on selection for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his ankle, but Dr Young assured him that surgery would not be necessary as it was only bruised. Pakistan tour England for a series of four Tests and five ODIs starting July, their longest tour of the country since 1992, and Shoaib has set his targets on that tour.

He also permanently ruled out playing county cricket with a view to preserving himself for international cricket. The Pakistan Cricket Board, in fact, is keen that he limit the number of matches he plays. He also reassured his fans that he would be not alter his bowling style as adviced by former cricketers in the recent past.

He wrote, "For those people who think I should now reduce my run-up or cut down on my pace, my message is simple: nothing is going to change. I will still be running in as hard as ever and trying to bowl fast. That's what I do and that's what I'm good at so it's pointless me bowling medium pace."