Pakistan may have lost the T20 World Cup 2022 final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium but their undying spirit and the fact that they did not give up till the very last moment proves how much they must be appreciated. However, one particular player, namely Shaheen Shah Afridi deserves a lot of credit and in this article, we shall be discussing about him broadly.
Shaheen Shah Afridi had been injured ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022. He missed the Asia Cup in order to be fit for the world cup but before the World Cup started, it was made known to us that he is not completely recovered. However, he made the decision to play irrespective of that and it proves how much he loves his nation.
Even during the matches, we could sometimes see that Shaheen was clearly in discomfort but still kept on playing. However, the Pakistan vs England final match turned things around. Shaheen Afridi picked up an early wicket in the very first over and made his presence felt. However, he suffered an injury while fielding. He took the catch of Harry Brooks and got injured in the process. He was taken to the sideline and tried to continue the match but in vain. As a result, his third over was completed by Iftikhar Ahmed.
It was the turning point of the match and things could have been a lot different if Shaheen had played the match till the very end. Iftikhar Ahmed conceded 15 runs in 5 balls which had a big impact on their hopes.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain said after the match: “Understand it is a world cup final but cannot risk a young man’s career,fast bowlers are like gold dust”.
Hopefully it is nothing serious and Shaheen Afridi will return to the pitch soon.
