‘An inquiry should be held to determine if the PCB medical panel went wrong’ - Former PCB Medical Officer on Shaheen Afridi’s injury

The T20 World Cup 2022 final was clinched by England at the MCG and Pakistan did produce a good fight despite posting a low total. They desperately wanted their premier pacer Shaheen Afridi to bowl his full quota which did not happen and it became a talking point after the final was over. Afridi hurt his knee while taking a running catch to dismiss Harry Brook and was seen in visible pain.

Afridi eventually had to limp off the field in the 16th over of the innings after bowling just one delivery as Iftikhar Ahmed completed the over. Afridi had undergone a knee surgery few months back and he returned to the big ICC tournament straightaway without much game time. PCB chief medical officer Dr. Sohail Salim suspected the time that Afridi would need to recover.  

Shaheen shouldn’t have been selected without proving his fitness: Sarfraz Nawaz 

Meanwhile, Salim also stated that Shaheen will need at least three to four months to recover from the injury and it may take even longer if his current injury leads to more injuries.

“If the injury doesn’t result in more injuries, it would take Shaheen three to four months to recover,” Salim told Dawn after the final. “If the PCB’s medical board chooses to treat it through surgery, Shaheen will be out for six, seven months. An inquiry should be held to determine if the PCB medical panel went wrong in their approach to treat Shaheen’s injury.” 

Former Pakistan cricketer Sarfraz Nawaz also said that Shaheen should have gotten enough match time to prove his fitness before getting selected for such a big tournament.

“You have put him in directly in the high profile World Cup without him playing any match since July. His fitness could have been better judged if he played a game before the World Cup and he shouldn’t have been selected without proving it,” he added.