Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has sent out a message to the fans after he was ruled out of the Asia Cup, as well as the seven-game T20I home series against England in September. Afridi has been sidelined with a knee injury he suffered earlier this year.
Seeing the T20 World Cup 2022 ahead starting October, the PCB's medical advisory committee has advised "four-six weeks rest" to the Pakistan spearhead.
Afridi posted a message on Twitter and assured fans that every player in the Pakistan team is a match winner. He also wished the team the best of luck and promised to come back as earlier as possible. His tweet said, “Every player of our playing 11 is a match winner. Wishing my team the best of luck for the upcoming Asia Cup. To the fans, keep me in your prayers for my quick recovery. I'll be back soon Inshallah.”
The PCB expects Afridi to be fit for the T20I tri-series in New Zealand in October before the T20 World Cup. “I have spoken with Afridi and he is understandably upset with the news, but he is brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team," PCB Chief Medical Officer Dr Najeebullah Soomro said in a statement.
"Although he has made progress during his rehabilitation in Rotterdam, it is now clear he will require more time and is likely to return to competitive cricket in October”, he added.
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan also reacted to Shaheen Afridi’s injury and talked about how he has been the team’s best bowler and hopes to see him in their upcoming series and most importantly the World Cup.
"Shaheen's our best bowler, so of course, we'll miss him," Khan said. "It's unfortunate that he won't be available for the Asia Cup. But we're hopeful he will be available for future series and the World Cup. We'll have to play ruthless cricket. Our team culture is such that we never relax against any team."
Afridi suffered a right knee ligament injury during their first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle last month and hence wasn’t included in the playing XI in the ongoing tour of the Netherlands, despite being in the squad.
