Pakistan has suffered a huge blow ahead of the all-important 2022 Asia Cup as their new-ball bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi has been deemed unfit to play competitive cricket anytime soon and is still to recover from his injury.
The 22-year-old pacer was expected to be the leader of Pakistan bowling attack in the tournament.
PCB sheds light on Shaheen Afridi’s injury
“I have spoken with Afridi and he is understandably upset with the news. But he is a brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team,” PCB chief medical officer Dr Najeebullah Soomro quoted in his statement.
Last month, Shaheen had suffered a ligament tear in his right knee during the Galle test against Sri Lanka.
The injury, at first, didn’t seem that serious and accordingly, Shaheen had made the Pakistan squad for the ongoing Netherlands tour.
But now that Shaheen Afridi has been advised ‘4 to 6 weeks of rest’ by the PCB medical team, there is no chance he plays any of the games against Netherlands or the 2022 Asia Cup.
The Pakistani swing-sensation has featured in 40 T20 internationals thus far, taking 47 scalps at an impressive average and economy of 24.3 and 7.8 respectively.
Shaheen Afridi had wreaked havoc in the Men in Green’s dominating win over India during the 2021 T20 World Cup, dismissing KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to bag the Man of The Match award.
Hence, Pakistan will surely miss Shaheen when they takes on Team India on 28 August, 2022.
The Pakistan Cricket Board believes after recovery from injury, Shaheen can return to action latest by Pakistan’s series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to take place just before the 2022 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan will soon announce injured Shaheen’s replacement for their 2022 Asia Cup campaign.