Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi suffered an injury during a Champions Cup fixture, raising doubts over his participation in the upcoming Test series against England. Here are the latest injury updates about the fast bowler.
How did Shaheen Afridi get injured?
Pakistan suffered a major blow before their Test series against England as ace pacer Shaheen Afridi injured his knee during a Champions Cup match in Faisalabad on Sunday (September 22). With 100 required in the last 10 overs, the Lions captain and Khushdil Shah threatened to pull off a miraculous chase against the Dolphins, who scored 326 batting first.
In a massive setback for his side, a delivery from Faheem Ashraf hit his left knee, forcing him to retire hurt. He returned to the crease after a wicket fell but was seen writhing in pain while running between the wickets. Shaheen showed valour and smashed Mir Hamza for consecutive sixes in the 47th over during his 33 not out off 28 balls. In the end, his team fell short by 16 runs.
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How has Shaheen's recent form been?
Shaheen has struggled with his form lately. During Pakistan’s 0-2 T20I series loss against England in May, Shaheen picked up three wickets from two outings at an economy of eight. In the T20 World Cup, his team crashed out of the group stage, catalysed by a humiliating loss against co-hosts USA. Shaheen had a middling outing, taking five wickets in four matches.
His most recent match for Pakistan came during the demoralising 0-2 Test series against Bangladesh at home. The left-arm pacer played the first Test, bagging just two wickets. He was left out of the second one as head coach Jason Gillespie revealed the pacer was "working on some things".
Shaheen provides updates on his injury
Shaheen regained his touch in the Champions Cup, claiming nine wickets in four matches.
In the post-match interview after his injury, Afridi revealed that he was fine and gave an update: "My knee is fine. I had dived earlier in the outfield so I already had a cut with swelling, then it got hit while batting so it was paining a bit."
England will enter the Pakistan series after a clean sweep against West Indies and a 2-1 series win against Sri Lanka at the start of their home summer. Underfire Pakistan captain Shan Masood would hope his leading pacer recovers before the first match.
Pakistan also announced a last-minute switch to the venues of their upcoming Test series against England owing to renovation work for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
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