The injury of Shaheen Afridi, the fastest bowler of Pakistan, to his knee has raised concerns among the fans about his going to play the T20 World Cup in February-March. The World Cup is very important for Pakistan since it would be a way of ending their long wait for a second title.
He even left the BBL early and flew back to his country from Australia some days before New Year’s Eve, so the PCB medical crew would be able to supervise his rehab and treat him with the World Cup in mind. Almost a week after he got hurt, the fast bowler posted an update about his health which was very encouraging for Pakistan cricket in its quest for the trophy.
What Shaheen says about his recent knee injury.
Shaheen Afridi has knee injury update
In his most recent discussion with the ICC media crew, the pacer exuded positivity for the forthcoming T20 tournament and disclosed how he got hurt as well as how long he would be out of action before he could serve the Men in Green again..
“My rehab is ongoing, with the PCB team monitoring it. I’m doing gym work and working on my batting at the moment. I’ll start bowling next week. It’s not as serious as it was last time. There’s a bit of swelling on the bone. The MRI report wasn’t that [concerning], this might not take a month. It’s more like a week,” the ace pacer from Pakistan said.
Shaheen’s persistent knee issue
As the bowler has shared in the earlier quoted statement, the 25-year-old has had a very bad record of knee-related troubles. The bowler underwent a knee surgery for posterior cruciate ligament in 2022 that was similar to the current knee injury and the whole treatment process took about a year including the early matches of that year’s T20 World Cup.
They said that his rehabilitation back then was pretty much rushed so he could be fit for the T20 World Cup in Australia after all, and the effects were apparent whenever he stepped onto the ground, running with a limp that was easily noticed and also getting slower before he slowly got back to his usual pace after playing a considerable number of matches.
Shaheen central to Pakistan’s T20 World Cup dream
The bowler, having already played for Pakistan in three T20 and two ODI World Cups since his debut, has become the principal support of Pakistan’s bowling and even leading them in ODIs and T20Is. It being a tough one to get through, he is the first wicket-taker in his country across formats with over 100 and an experienced campaigner in the squad, thus he will be at the forefront of the team if Pakistan wants to bring the trophy home after a long wait since 2009.
Till now, the pacer has played 96 T20Is and taken 126 wickets at an economy of 7.71 and an average of 21.26, with a strike rate of every 16.5 balls. In addition, he is an effective weapon down the order and can also be of assistance with the bat during the death overs.