Few things to note here: What’s unknown is the quality of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa batsmen, but still 6 wickets is 6 wickets.
Also, having the knee operated upon and fully healthy will make a world of difference. His fitness problems have mostly been related to the knee, so maybe he’ll be able to stay healthy for longer.
There’s no substitute for a genuine fast, aggressive, hostile bowler. Just read some interviews from the batsmen who’ve had to face him, whether Australian or Indian, and they all make it a point to say how difficult it was to handle the bowling.
We know he is a wicket taker and there is no doubt that he can take 6 wickets in an ODI against any opposition, the problem is also described below. Its his lack of commitment, his running out of ground to take a break every now and then specially during tests.
he could take 10 wickets out of 10 for 50 matches straight and imo, he should still not be picked. if people like Yousuf, Younis, Malik, etc can be punished/banned, etc, then Akhtar should be given a life ban for his past shenanigans. not just him but his future generations should be banned as well. he is THE worst behaved player in the history of Pak cricket. and should not be allowed back no matter how well he is playing.
plus we don’t need him. we have a very fine attack for ODIs and T20s. when we needed him, he behaved like he was bigger than Pak cricket and the team. well guess what we don’t need you any more… and now he’s begging to get back in. tough luck pappu.