Shoaib Akhtar cleared to join his team in England

Lahore, May 5: "Rawalpindi Express" Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday received the green light to join the Pakistan cricket team in England after a panel of doctors declared him fully fit, officials said.

The Pakistan Cricket Boards medical team cleared Akhtar after he underwent a series of tests following an unshakeable bout of typhoid, the board's director of operations Brigadier Munawwar Rana said.

Akhtar, 25, who had been left behind when the team left for England last week, was now free to join his teammates. He would most probably leave on Sunday, Rana said.

"I am ready for the series and am looking forward to joining the team," a beaming Akhtar said.

The express pacer, cleared from suspect bowling action by Australian experts last month, played a limited over game in Lahore on Friday.

"I bowled some six overs and felt comfortable in the heat of Lahore. I am sure it would be lot cooler in England," he said.

He thanked England captain Nasser Hussain for his support. "Hussain is a nice guy and his comments really soothed me. But on the field he cant hope for a similar gesture," he said.

Hussain had called on the cricket community to stop questioning Akhtar's actions.

PCB chairman Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia denied that Akhtar had been pampered, by employing experts to assess his bowling action.

"Every player is dear to me and this is a wrong impression that Akhtar is our blue-eyed boy," he said. PCB spends money on every injured player, he added.