Skipper Malik backs Shoaib to fire in Champions Trophy

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik is anticipating that his comeback pacer Shoaib Akhtar will regain full fitness ahead of September’s Champions Trophy. Malik said on Sunday that Shoaib’s expected return to the Pakistan team is good news for the country pointing out that the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ is a match-winning bowler. “Shoaib is a great fast bowler and has won many a match for Pakistan in the past,” Malik said at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore where he and fellow teammates had assembled to give urine samples for dope tests. “Shoaib has some fitness issues but we are all hopeful that he will overcome them in time to bowl in the Champions Trophy at full throttle.”