Pakistan’s top pacer Shaheen Afridi has declared a warning for his opponents ahead of the T20 World Cup as the 22-year-old bowler is all set to return after an injury lay-off.
Afridi has been declared fit again by the PCB chairman Ramiz Raja and will play the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 against India on October 23 at the renowned Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Afridi is not part of the ongoing New Zealand T20I tri-series that involves Bangladesh as well. Speaking to the Pakistan channel Dawn News, Ramiz informed that Afridi will be back for World Cup. But there is a piece of bad news leg-spinner Usman Qadir has injured himself.
“Usman Qadir injured, hair line fracture in finger, we will see what option we have, Fakhar Zaman also getting better, I feel he can be very important, but its a call of team management about him and X1” Ramiz Raja told Dawn News.
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Shaheen Afridi and the injury woes
Shaheen Afridi had a troubling knee since the Test series against Sri Lanka in July. He was with the team, travelling before it got worse and had to go to London to begin his recovery. At that time, his to-be father-in-law and former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi had revealed that Shaheen was spending his own money in London, from medical expenses to accommodation expenses. Later, Raja broke his silence and said that all his expenses will be reimbursed by the PCB.
Shaheen’s return is a major gain for the already heavy-weight Pakistan bowling lineup who are dependent on their bowling attack to win the second title. They already possess a great pace attack, in form of Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim.
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