The Pakistani cricket team and the management’s confidence has been boosted before the ICC T20 World Cup as Shaheen Afridi stated that he’s fully fit and ready to face India in the T20 World Cup. He was the talk of the town after scalping three wickets for the Indian team that helped Pakistan win the game. He was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022 due to an injury but now he’s back to face their arch-rivals India in this year’s T20 World Cup.
Pakistan Cricket Board’s chairman Ramiz Raja had a word with the pacer and believes that SHaheen has never been this fit. Earlier, he suffered a knee injury just before the Asia Cup and couldn’t participate in the event. After following a strict diet and working hard, with the trainer he’s ready to show his skills in the World Cup.
Ramiz Raja further added –
“He said, ‘I haven’t felt this fit in a while.So, the progress is very good. His doctor has sent me videos of him. He feels he will play against India and will be battle ready. This is very good news because these knee injuries are very technical and delicate. So our opinion on this was till he doesn’t get 110 percent fit, we won’t take a risk (of playing him). When I talked to him and he said, I am 110 percent (fit) now so you don’t worry. I’ll play practice matches in Australia and I’m ready for the India match.”
In the 2021 T20 World Cup, the match between India and Pakistan was completely dominated by the green army. Shaheen’s spell in the match put India on the back seat. India’s trusted batters like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli couldn’t make their mark. Shaheen will be trying to exploit the weakness of the men in blue once again in the World Cup. The Indian batters have a problem with left-arm pacers like Reece Topley, Obed McCoy and Wayne Parnell as seen in the T2O series.
Fakhar Zaman who’s a notable player was added to the T20 World Cup squad among the stand-by players ( due to his knee injury). If he’s fit enough, he’ll start playing.
Shaheen Afridi playing for the Pakistani team puts them in an advantageous position. The team will have a clash against India on October 23, Sunday at 1:30pm.
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