In what was a big blow to the Pakistan national team ahead of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, after their star left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has been ruled out of the team following a knee injury.
Afridi has been advised 4-6 weeks of rest after his latest scans and reports came out on an issue in his right knee ligament. The left-arm pacer had suffered the injury while fielding in the first Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle last month. He is expected to travel with the squad for the Asia Cup and continue his rehabilitation. However, the team doctor has advised that Afridi won’t be able to return before the start of October.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed has blamed poor workload management for Shaheen Afridi’s injury. “It could be due to workload. Shaheen has been playing cricket continuously. No doubt, it’s a huge loss for Pakistan before the Asia Cup and the team will feel his absence,” Javed said in an interaction with Pakistani news channel GeoTV.
Javed also said that Shaheen Afridi’s injury should be dealt with cautiously as he has a long career ahead. “Team management should deal with patience. Do not panic in this situation and let Shaheen recover completely. He has a long career ahead,” added the former Pakistan great.
Pakistan’s opening game in the Asia Cup 2022 will be against arch rivals India on August 28. Aaqib Javed feels it Shaheen Afridi will be a big loss since India traditionally struggles against left arm seamers. “Previously, it was Amir and then Shaheen. The left-arm pacers always gave tough time to Indian batters. Amir led us to victory in Champions Trophy 2017 and Shaheen in T20 World Cup 2021,” he added.
Waqar Younis was obviously referring to the last time India took on Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai. Shaheen Afridi emerged as the Player of the Match, having rattled the Indian batsmen, especially the top three. He dismissed KL Rahul for just 3 runs, while scalping up Rohit Sharma for a golden duck. He also picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli who scored a half-century.
