Will Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi regain fitness for T20 World Cup?
What's the story
Pakistan's star pacer, Shaheen Afridi, suffered a knee injury while playing for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League (BBL). The injury scare comes just weeks before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026. Afridi was unable to complete his full spell and ended with figures of 3-0-26-0 during the match against Adelaide Strikers at The Gabba in Brisbane on December 27.
Injury impact
Afridi's injury details and BBL performance
The injury occurred in the 14th over of the Strikers's run-chase when Jamie Overton hit a yorker-length delivery from Xavier Bartlett straight down the ground. Afridi, who was fielding at mid-on, chased after the ball but seemed to hurt his knee during the run. He was visibly in pain and limped off at the end of the over without bowling another ball. Notably, Afridi has had a tough time in this year's BBL season with just two wickets from four matches at an economy rate of 11.19.
Debut details
Afridi's BBL debut and future prospects
Afridi's BBL debut wasn't exactly memorable either. He was taken off the attack for dangerous bowling during Brisbane Heat's match against Melbourne Renegades on December 15. The incident happened on the fifth ball of the 18th over when Afridi bowled a high full toss that forced left-hander Oliver Peake to dodge it and beat wicketkeeper Jimmy Pierson, allowing batters to run two runs.
Upcoming matches
Pakistan's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign
Pakistan will begin their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. They will then face the United States on February 10 and arch-rivals India on February 15. The team is hopeful for a speedy recovery of Afridi as they look to end their title drought since their last ICC trophy win in 2017. Meanwhile, Afridi boasts 126 T20I wickets at 21.26 (ER: 7.71).