Shoaib returns to action

Injured Pakistani paceman, Shoaib Akhtar, will return to action for the first time in months, as he plays for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) XI against Leicestershire in the first Twenty20 match to be hosted in Asia.

The match, the third warm-up match for Leicestershire for the forthcoming county season, will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, tomorrow (Friday).

Shoaib missed the just concluded away Test series against India, and was subsequently ruled out for the ODI series to start on Saturday, because of a persistent hamstring problem.

This match should help Shoaib gain much needed match practice before being considered for national selection. Shabbir Ahmed, who has missed a fair few months because of a knee trouble, has also been named in the PCB XI squad.

PCB XI squad:
Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Kamran Sajid, Agha Sabir, Khurram Manzoor, Shoaib Khan, Naveed Latif, Tahir Mughal, Kamran Hussain, Rajesh Ramesh, Mansoor Amjad, Ahmed Said, Hafiz Khalid, Faisal Irfan.