“There were times when I wanted to give up" -Shaheen Afridi opens up about his injury struggles
Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi admitted that he contemplated giving up while trying to recover from his serious knee injury. He sustained the blow during the tour of Sri Lanka in August 2022 and aggravated it further in Pakistan's loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 final in Melbourne.
Afridi was touch-and-go for the marquee tournament in Australia last year, having skipped the tri-series in New Zealand. He played across all matches for Pakistan during the campaign before his knee took a turn for the worse while claiming a catch in the final. After another setback, the decision to rush the youngster back into action was criticized by plenty.
He has since undergone a lengthy rehabilitation program, missing out on Pakistan's home season in the process.
.@iShaheenAfridi raring for his comeback in HBL PSL 2023
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Revealing the tedious nature of the sessions, where he even considered giving up. Afridi told PCB Digital:
“There were times when I wanted to give up. I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving. Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore’.
Afridi continued:
“But then I used to watch my bowling on YouTube and see how well I had done and that motivated me and I told myself ‘to push a little more’ … It is frustrating for a fast bowler to miss cricket because of an injury.”
The Men in Green desperately missed the left-arm pacer's services as they went through a forgettable run of games in the longest format. The Babar Azam-led side suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of England before grinding out a 0-0 series result against New Zealand. The recent set of results meant that Pakistan completed the home leg of their World Test Championship (WTC) campaign without a single win.
Stating that he was eager to leap into action during the Multan Test against England, where they ended up short by 26 runs to concede the series. He said:
“It came when I was watching the [Multan Test] match and our tailenders were not able to finish the game. I wanted to hit a few sixes there and finish the match for Pakistan. Also, when they [England] were scoring a lot of runs, I wanted to give my input with the ball.”
Afridi was seen bowling with a full run-up and is reportedly close to making his return to competitive cricket.
"PSL is one of the best leagues in the world and the quality of cricket tests you as a bowler" - Shaheen Afridi
With Pakistan's next international assignment being another home series against New Zealand in April, the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) proves to be an excellent avenue for Shaheen Afridi to mark his return.
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Stating that he is close to making a return to the cricketing field as a player, Afridi said:
"HBL PSL is one of the best leagues in the world and the quality of cricket tests you as a bowler. I am very excited to be making my comeback here and look forward to all the challenges that it will throw at me. Thanks to Almighty, I am doing well. I am ticking both the bowling workload and fitness requirement boxes.”
He showed his leadership capabilities while leading the Lahore Qalandars to their maiden title in the 2022 season. The defending champions are slated to begin their campaign with a clash against the Multan Sultans on February 13.
Will Shaheen Afridi hit top form right away after a significant layoff? Let us know what you think.
Also Read: England set to name depleted squad for Bangladesh tour amid franchise cricket schedule; Several players to honor PSL contracts - Reports