Pakistan’s former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has requested prayers for his knee surgery. He has been admitted to a hospital in Australia.

In a video message from his hospital bed, Shoaib Akhtar in said that he will have an eight-hour long surgery for which he needs prayers.

The former cricketer said that he hopes this will be his last surgery. He has had five knee operations before.

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“One thing I would like to say is that it’s all worth it,” said Shoaib, as playing for Pakistan as a fast bowler meant a lot to him.

“I will need two to three weeks to fully recover and the pain will go away,” he said.

“This is the pain that I have to endure. It will be an eight-hour partial knee replacement surgery and hopefully, I will come out right,” he added.

Prior to his retirement from international cricket in 2011, Akhtar played for Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs, and 15 T20Is. He took 444 wickets in those matches.