Pakistan received a big boost ahead of the T20 World Cup, with Shaheen Afridi completing his rehab in London after a knee injury. The fast bowler is set to join the Pakistan squad in Brisbane on October 15.
The Pakistan Cricket Board revealed via a statement that Afridi will be available for selection for both warm-up matches on October 17 and 19, where they face England and Afghanistan, respectively. His match fitness will then be assessed for their opening T20 World Cup clash against India on October 23 in Melbourne.
“I’m super excited at the prospect of rejoining the national side for the T20 World Cup. I have been bowling six to eight overs trouble-free for the past 10 days with full run-up and pace. While I have enjoyed bowling and batting in the nets, nothing can replace the feel of a match environment and I can’t wait to be in that setting,”
the 22-year-old said in a statement.
“It has been a rigorous and challenging rehabilitation programme, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. To be honest, I am feeling fitter than ever before and can’t wait to wear the playing kit,”
he added.
Afridi had suffered a right knee ligament injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka in July and has been sidelined since. The PCB kept him with the squad first on the Netherlands tour and then in the Asia Cup, hoping that he’d recover.
But the swelling on his knee started to get worse, and medical scans confirmed a posterior cruciate ligament injury. Eventually, the board decided to send him to the UK for further rehab. The PCB medical panel doctors Zafar Iqbal and Imtiaz Ahmed oversaw the treatment.
Fakhar Zaman, who was also in the UK after a knee injury, will continue his rehab under the watchful eyes of the same medical panel. Fakhar had suffered the injury during the Asia Cup final, ruling him out of the home T20I series against England.
Fakhar is part of the reserve players list for the T20 World Cup along with Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani, and a decision on his availability will be taken in the next few days.
