Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz had to be carried off the pitch after a toe-crushing yorker from Pakistan pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi struck the opener’s left foot, dismissing him, in the World Cup warm-up match between both sides in Brisbane on Wednesday, 19 October.
The match ended as no result after it got abandoned due to rain. Batting first, Afghanistan had sent wicket-keeper batter Gurbaz to open the innings, but little did he know what was awaiting him.
A searing inswinging yorker from Afridi resulted in Gurbaz having to be taken off the field on the shoulder of a teammate after being unable to walk.
Gurbaz, who seemed to be in excruciating pain, was treated by the physios before being carried off as the match got temporarily paused for a while.
The 20-year-old was later sent to the hospital for scans and was cleared of a serious injury according to a statement put out by Afghanistan Cricket Board. Gurbaz is expected to be fit and ready to play in his side’s World Cup opener against England in Perth on 23 October.
Meanwhile, Afridi had recently made his return to international cricket in Pakistan’s first warm-up match against England a few days ago.
The 22-year-old bowler had missed a major part of the year owing to a right knee ligament injury sustained while fielding during the first Test against Sri Lanka back in July.
Since then, Afridi had been undergoing recovery and had even missed out on Pakistan’s Asia Cup campaign this year.
However, the sabbatical seemed to have no effect on the young Pakistani's form as he bowled an excellent new ball spell against Afghanistan, offering his side a ray of hope ahead of their preparations for the World Cup.
Afridi’s Pakistan take on arch-rivals India in their World Cup opener at the MCG in Melbourne on Sunday.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)