Oct 13(ABC): Former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood is optimistic about pace ace Shaheen Shah Afridi’s return to the national side ahead of the T20 World Cup and said that the 22-year-old would not have “any problems” when he joins the team after his recovering from his knee injury.
Shaheen sustained a knee injury during Pakistan’s two-match Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle, after which he was ruled out of the Netherlands series, Asia Cup 2022, and the home series against England.
However, the pacer has been declared fit for the T20 World Cup 2022.
In an interview with local media, the former all-rounder said: “Shaheen Shah Afridi will not have any problem on his return to the team.”
“The pacer also started bowling after recovering from injury, and if he completes his rehabilitation process properly, he will not have any problem. Hopefully, Shaheen will be able to bowl well like before. All Pakistanis, including me, are praying for him.”
The former cricketer said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) backing the selected team is the “best thing”.
“The best thing I see is that PCB is backing the selected team. We have seen in the past that teams get changed after receiving pressure. This happened when I was the bowling coach too,” Azhar said.
“They should continue to back them if they think these are their best players. Khushdil performed well in the PSL, and the same goes for Asif,” he added.
PCB recently confirmed Shaheen’s fitness and said the left-arm pacer would be available for selection in warm-up matches against England and Afghanistan before kicking off their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against India on October 23.
