I hope Shaheen plays T20 World Cup: Salman Agha

Pakistan’s T20 captain Salman Ali Agha has expressed optimism about Shaheen Shah Afridi’s recovery from a knee injury, hoping the fast bowler will regain full fitness in time for next month’s T20 World Cup. Afridi has been a key figure in Pakistan’s pace attack, and his availability could be crucial for the team’s chances in the tournament, being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

“We are hopeful he will be fit for the World Cup but the final decision will come from the (Pakistan Cricket) Board on advice from the medical panel,” Salman told the media in Dambulla where Pakistan take on Sri Lanka in the first T20I on Wednesday.

Shaheen’s rehabilitation is being supervised by the PCB’s medical panel at the High Performance Centre in Lahore. The PCB on Wednesday released a video of the pacer doing rehabilitation but didn’t mention the extent of his injury or how long it will take for him to regain full fitness. Shaheen hurt his knee while fielding in a Big Bash League match in Australia recently. He was released by his side, Brisbane Heat, with the PCB calling him back for rehabilitation.

It is not the first time Shaheen has suffered a knee problem. It also happened in 2021 while fielding during a Test in Galle, and the injury kept him out of the game for several months. Salman also said that Pakistan had managed to prepare a balanced and strong side for the World Cup and the series in Sri Lanka would help his players acclimatise to the weather and ground conditions in the country.

Pakistan will play all their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka.  “This series will help the players a lot for the World Cup, especially those who haven’t played that much cricket in Sri Lanka. Pakistan have included only one uncapped player, Khawaja Nafay, in their squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka.