LAHORE, July 20: Twenty-six out of 30 probables for the ICC Champions Trophy, which includes the controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, provided urine samples for the compulsory dope test required for the selection of the 15-member squad for the event scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September.

Younis Khan, Bazid Khan, Yasir Arafat and Azhar Ali couldn’t appear for the test on Sunday as Younis is performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia while the rest are playing in England.

Of them Yasir, Bazid and Azhar, being unlikely candidates for the final selection, may not even show up to give a sample. Younis, however, is expected to appear for it in the next couple of days, soon after his return from Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the dope-tainted Shoaib Akhtar proved his critics, who thought he would avoid giving a sample, wrong by showing up for the test.

Shoaib and fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif had tested positive for Nandrolone during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, which was held in India. The bowlers managed to escape punishment back then but Asif’s career is looking bleak after he again tested positive for the steroid during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL).

Shoaib’s providing a sample for the test on Sunday shows that the controversial bowler may still be serious about getting on with his cricketing career.

If selected in the squad, Shoaib will make a comeback in the national side after the Bangalore Test last December. The last One-day International he played was also in India, at Gwalior in November 2007.

Shoaib’s involvement in various controversies since then has kept him away from the Pakistan side. Chances of his ever coming back to the side had as much as diminished back in April after the imposing of the five-year ban on him by PCB’s disciplinary committee for openly criticising the board’s policies, despite already being warned of a life-ban if found involved in more acts of indiscipline.

But Shoaib, who went to court in order to fight the ban, managed to escape from it and thus be included in the list of 30 probables for the Champion’s Trophy.

Twenty-four probables who appeared for the dope test will be travelling to Kakul on Monday to attend the training camp there. Shoaib, due to his fitness, will not be one of them. He will have to prove his fitness in the trial matches to be held here from Aug 5. The final team will be announced on Aug 11.