The star quick of the Pakistan side Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 early this week. Since then, all the attention has been on the 22-year-old and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) concerning the injury management of the players.
The left arm pacer was injured during the first Test against Sri Lanka last month and stayed with the team for the three match ODI series against Netherlands to stay in close touch with the team physio for faster recover.
In a press conference hosted by Asia Cup 2022’s official broadcaster Start Sports to announce the comeback of Shaz (Ravi Shastri) and Waz (Wasim Akram) to commentary, the two greats talked in detail about the situation Afridi finds himself in.
“Pakistan will miss Shaheen Afridi. He is important because he takes wickets with the new ball. In this format, everyone says that if you have to restrict the opposition, you have to get wickets with the new ball. That's what he does, he attacks the stumps. He has been consistent across formats, he has been the main bowler for Pakistan,” Akram said.
“The think-tank has been criticised for not managing his workload. But he is 21 (22), he has to play cricket. He suffered a knee injury. I never had knee injury as a fast bowler, but those who had tell me that it takes time to heal. And when you come back, you are always scared of injuring yourself again. Until you are 100 percent fit, you won't be able to bowl,” the legendary left-arm pacer added.
Mohammad Hasnain has been named the replacement for Afridi for the Asia Cup. The Pakistan team will start their campaign on August 28 (Sunday) against defending champions India.
Afridi’s run in last year’s WC campaign
Afridi played a crucial role in Pakistan’s road to the semi-final in the 2021 T20 World Cup which was played in the UAE. Pakistan fast-bowling spearhead picked up three important wickets Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma in the historic clash.
India were not able to recover thereafter and Pakistan won the game with ease. The quick did not have an expected end to the tournament when wicketkeeper-batter Mathew Wade took on Afridi after he was dropped by Hasan Ali on mid-wicket. Wade hit three consecutive sixes and broke the dream of the Babar Azam led Pakistan team.
