Having resigned the Pakistan captaincy, he could be dropped for next month's tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe when the selectors choose a provisional party on Jan 20.

The problem for the fast-bowler has been the lingering suspicion of match-fixing, which circulated in the Pakistan press after the team's mediocre showing in the recent Sharjah tournament.

Akram has criticised attacks on his integrity as ``baseless''. He said: ``I badly need public support as I face a most difficult phase in my career.''

He said he would ``surely protest'' if he was dropped without a reason. ``Once we lose, people start raising fingers at us, which is unfair.''

He said: ``When we lost to India in the 1996 World Cup, my house was pelted with stones and the same has been happening now.''

Pakistan, under their new captain Rashid Latif, suffered an 18-run defeat by India in the Independence Cup one-day tournament in Bangladesh yesterday.