Shahid Afridi bids goodbye to PSL 2022 due to serious body pain

The PSL 2022 edition has provided its fans with high-octane cricketing action for the last few weeks. The tournament has seen some blistering knocks, extraordinary bowling performances, and some great instances of fielding as well.

One of the legends of Pakistan cricket, Shahid Afridi a.k.a. “Boom Boom” had announced before the beginning of the 2022 edition of the Pakistan Super League that this would be his last season in the PSL. However, Afridi, in a video posted on his official youtube channel, said that he won’t be playing anymore in the PSL 2022 due to his lower back injury getting worse and the pain extending to different parts of the body. Afridi was a part of the Multan Sultans side that won the PSL 2021 edition.

“I wanted to end PSL on a good note but I have been playing with the lower-back injury for 15-16 years now and the pain is quite intense where I feel it in my groin, knee and even the fingers of the foot,” Afridi said as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

“Goodbye to PSL, My body is in serious pain,” tweeted Afridi with a video.

Shahid Afridi updates on his health

Good bye to PSL | My body is in serious painhttps://t.co/yyHWSibxlH

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) February 13, 2022

The swashbuckling all-rounder has played for over 21 years since making his international debut for Pakistan.  He came as a 16-year-old into the Pakistan ODI squad and was unfazed by all the speculation regarding his real age. In only his second ODI against Sri Lanka in 1996, he blasted his way to a 37-ball century. For more than 17 years, it remained the fastest century in the ODI format before Corey Anderson broke the record in January 2014.

Afridi retired from Test cricket in 2010, it was followed by his farewell from One Day International Cricket in 2015 after World Cup. However, he made a brief return to international cricket after being selected to represent and captain the World XI against the West Indies in the 2018 Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge charity match. Following the conclusion of the match, Afridi announced his retirement from international cricket on 31 May 2018.

Coming into the 7th edition of the PSL, things did not go according to plan for Shahid Afridi as he had to sit out of the initial fixtures for the Quetta Gladiators as he was tested COVID-19 positive. Returning back after testing negative, he did not have a good start as he conceded the second-highest runs by a bowler in a PSL match when he recorded 1-67 off his 4 overs.