Akhtar recalled for decider against South Africa

8220;He remains a key player for us and will boost the pace attack for the Indian tour,8221; Ahmed added.

Akhtar was sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in September after he struck fellow paceman Mohammad Asif with a bat during a brawl before the tournament started. He was later banned for 13 matches and fined Rs 3.4 million 27,000 pounds for four breaches of the code of conduct. The board also put Akhtar on probation for two years which means if he is again found guilty of violating the PCB8217;s code of conduct he could be banned for life.

Ahmed said the squad for the three Tests in India would be named later. 8220;For the one-dayers we believe we have picked the most balanced outfit and the presence of Shoaib and Asif will make our bowling dependable,8221; he said.

The selectors added Akhtar and all-rounder Fawad Alam to the squad of players who have featured against South Africa. Pakistan will play India in five one-dayers starting on November 5 in Guwahati.

One-day squad: Shoaib Malik captain, Shahid Afridi, Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Yasir Hameed, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul Haq, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Tanvir and Abdul Rehman.