Shaheen Afridi Likely to be Ruled Out of England & New Zealand Series After Exacerbating a Knee injury
Shaheen Afridi is set to be ruled out of the England and New Zealand series.
Pakistan suffered a huge blow as their premier pacer Shaheen Afridi has been ruled out of action for 3-4 months in order to recover from the knee injury he sustained during the final match against England on Sunday, November 13, ESPNCricinfo reported.
The Pakistan speedster hurt his fragile knee while completing a catch during England’s successful run chase at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and left the field immediately after delivering one ball from his second spell.
The young left-arm pacer sustained an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) during the tour of Sri Lanka a few months earlier, which saw him being ruled out of the 2022 edition of Asia Cup and his participation in the T20 World Cup 2022 was in jeopardy as well.
Afridi later missed the home series against England as well as the tri-series in New Zealand ahead of the tournament. Though he made himself available for T20 World Cup 2022, he didn’t look completely fit during the showpiece tournament.
Afridi is expected to be ruled out of the upcoming England Test series and New Zealand series as well. The Jos Buttler-led side toured Pakistan for a seven-match T20I series before T20 World Cup 2022 where they won the series 4-3.
The Ben Stokes-led England is set to travel to Pakistan for a three-match Test Series, starting December 1. The first match of the series will take place at Rawalpindi Stadium while the second and third Test will be played at Multan Cricket Stadium and National Stadium in Karachi respectively.