Highlights
- Afridi has been named in the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup
- The pacer is currently in London and will join the squad in Brisbane on 15 October
- Afridi missed the Asia Cup T20 as well due to injury
Shaheen Shah Afridi is all set for a comeback into the Pakistan team for the upcoming T20 World Cup after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and its selector's panel announced the squad on Thursday evening. The lethal pacer who missed the Asia Cup T20 due to a knee injury will resume net practice early next month and would be available for the showpiece event down under in Australia. But the big question is how fit the lethal pacer is?
After sustaining a knee injury in the Test series against Sri Lanka in the first Galle Test, the pacer missed the second Test at the same venue. However, the seriousness of the injury was later found out to be more than earlier expected and resulted in him sitting out of the Asia Cup T20 in UAE.
According to early reports, the pacer has already started work on his rehabilitation and will resume net practice in early October. Currently, Afridi is working on his rehabilitation in London, where he also had a minor knee surgery that was a success earlier in the month.
If everything goes according to plan, the pacer will join the rest of the Pakistan squad on October 15 in Brisbane. The England series will come too early for the pacer, while he spends time on the treatment table before gearing up for the marquee event.
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Having scalped seven wickets in six matches at the T20 World Cup in 2021, the 22-year-old will be determined to prove his worth once again. In 40 T20I matches, he has picked up 47 wickets and should complete the milestone of 50 wickets in the T20 World Cup.
The PCB has played its gamble and would not want to backfire as Afridi will be a key member of the unit in Australia. If he only serves as a cheerleader in the T20 World Cup as he did in the Asia Cup, there will be more questions than answers for the PCB to address.
T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir.
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani
Pakistan at ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Australia 2022:
23 October – vs India, Melbourne
27 October – vs winner Group B, Perth
30 October – vs runner-up Group A, Perth
3 November – vs South Africa, Sydney
6 November – vs Bangladesh, Adelaide
