Younis backs Shoaib

Fast bowler gets the support of team-mate

Last updated: 7th July 2008

shoaib akhtar Pakistan 07

Shoaib: Needs extra care

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Younis Khan has backed Shoaib Akhtar to return to the Pakistan side - but insisted the troubled fast bowler needed to be treated with extra care.

Shoaib was freed by a court to play for the national side after a Lahore High Court judge suspended his 18-month ban for a breach of disciplinary.

A tribunal had already reduced Shoaib's ban from the PCB from five years - with the latest appeal hearing suspending the sentence until September.

However Younis believes that Shoaib needs to be looked after to get the best out of him.

"I have spent a lot of time with him," Younis told The News. "He is like a child and needs constant attention. He needs extra care.

"He is a match-winner. Fast bowlers are fun-loving and passionate. More passionate than other players.

"Shoaib is hounded by the media all the time. He needs privacy and encouragement."