Due to injury, Pakistani cricketer Shaheen Afridi has missed both national and international obligations. The left-arm pacer suffered an injury while playing against England in the T20 World Cup 2022 championship match. Nonetheless, the pacer returned to the Pakistan Super League in top form (PSL).
Meanwhile, the former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was critical of Shaheen as he said that he should have played the final, taking a painkiller. “If I was in his [Shaheen Afridi] place, I would have become the greatest celebrity of Pakistan during those 12 minutes by bowling the same number of deliveries. I would’ve come to bowl, fall, break my knees, but I would’ve got up, used injection to numb my knees, and repeated the same again,” Akhtar was quoted by cricketpakistan.com.
Shahid Afridi, a former captain of Pakistan, responded to Akhtar’s comments by saying that Akhtar had a history of using a lot of injections and painkillers while he was playing, which made it difficult for him to walk now. “Shoaib Akhtar took so many injections that he can’t walk now!” Afridi said During an interaction with Samaa TV. “See, this is Shoaib Akhtar’s class. He can do that. It’s difficult, though. Everyone can’t be Shoaib Akhtar. It’s difficult to play with injury if you take injections and painkillers. Because then, you risk aggravating the injury further. Anyway, let’s leave Shoaib Akhtar alone!”
One of the best pacers of his generation is Shaheen. The 22-year-old is now Lahore Qalandars’ captain in the eighth PSL season, which is currently in progress. With the Asia Cup and the ODI World Cup coming up in 2023, Pakistan continues to place a high priority on the pacer’s physical condition. Akthar, who recently suggested that Pakistan captain Babar Azam learn to speak English well, received harsh criticism for his comments.
“Abhi aap dekh le, koi character nahi team mein. Naa koi baat karne ka tarika. (You can see there’s no character in the team, nor do they know how to talk). How awkward it looks when they come to the presentation. Kitna mushkil hai English seekhna aur baat krna? (How difficult is it to learn and speak English?),” Akhtar was quoted as saying in times now news.
“Cricket is one job, and handling media is another. If you can’t speak, I am sorry, but you won’t be able to express yourself on TV. “I want to openly say that Babar Azam should be the biggest brand in Pakistan, but why hasn’t he become the biggest brand in Pakistan? Because he can’t speak,” he added.
