May 10, 2006	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1427

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KARACHI, May 9: Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan all-rounder, remained optimistic on Tuesday about regaining full fitness for the upcoming England tour after undergoing successful surgery in South Africa last month. The 24-year-old, who necessitated keyhole surgery to remove pieces of floating bones in his right elbow, had been twice reported in the past for suspect bowling action, a malaise believed to be caused by after-affects of injuries sustained some years ago in a road accident.

“I’m pretty confident of making full recovery from the surgery,” Malik said from his hometown Sialkot.

“The procedure went nicely in Cape Town where Dr Dassel Verttoz (orthopaedic surgeon), operated on my elbow on April 26.

“In fact stitches were removed a couple of days ago and I have already started light training to get back in the shape.

“However, since the doctor advised rest for six to eight weeks, I’m not putting any pressure on the right elbow to avoid aggravating the problem.”

Malik hoped that problems in his off-spinning action were now things of the past.

“Basically, I suffered a lot of pain in extending my right elbow whether batting or bowling and it was caused by the injury I was carrying.

“But I am confident that after the surgery everything will be fine,” he remarked.

Malik was first reported during a one-day tri-series in October 2004 and again when England toured Pakistan last year.

Meanwhile, Malik was looking forward to the England tour.

“Surely it is the place of places for a cricketer where he dreams about playing.

“I won’t be the last person to say that it’s the tour I had been looking forward to a long time.”

Malik considered that opening the innings inspired him to new challenges.

“I never dream of going in as Test opener. But since the team management threw down the gauntlet, I accepted it as a challenge,” he revealed.

A veteran of 117 One-day Internationals, Malik has so far played in 15 Tests since the Multan Test against Bangladesh in 2001.

Malik singled out his 148 – which was his maiden century – against Sri Lanka at Colombo as his best knock.

“The best part of that innings was it saved Pakistan from a probable Test defeat. Batting in hot and humid conditions was not easy, but I hung in there for over eight hours for the team’s sake,” he noted.