Big blow to Pakistan’s Asia Cup hopes, Shaheen Shah Afridi ruled out due to injury

New Delhi: Pakistan’s cricket fans would be unhappy as Shaheen Shah Afridi has suffered an injury and will not be a part of the upcoming Asia Cup 2022. He got a right knee ligament injury while fielding in the first Test against Sri Lanka last month.

Seeing to the latest scans, he has been advised to rest for 4-6 weeks and will also not take part in the home series against England. The pacer will look forward to getting fit and playing the T20I series with New Zealand in October, which is followed by the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia.

PCB Chief Medical Officer, Dr Najeebullah Soomro said, “I have spoken with Shaheen and he is understandably upset with the news, but he is brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team.” He also added that the bowler has made progress during his rehabilitation in Rotterdam and indicated that he might return to play in October.

Shaheen will remain with the Pakistan squad as he completes his rehabilitation. Pakistan Cricket Board will soon announce a replacement for the Asia Cup. Meanwhile, Pakistan will begin their Asia Cup campaign against India on August 28. The side will be captained by in form Babar Azam and is looking strong to get their hands on the trophy.

The tournament will begin on August 27 with Sri Lanka taking on Afghanistan in Dubai. The Asia Cup will be played in the T20 format in UAE, however, the host of the tournament is Sri Lanka. India is placed with Pakistan in group A. The third team in the group will be decided after the qualifiers between Hong Kong, Kuwait, Singapore and UAE.