Former players and cricket enthusiasts showered their empathy on Shaheen Afridi, as the Pakistani pacer suffered an injury during his team’s defeat against England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 final.
Despite having only 138 runs to defend against an intimidating English batting unit, the Pakistani bowlers put up a valiant show to take the game deep. Afridi was one of the chief orchestrators of the Pakistani resilience, as he dismantled opening batter Alex Hales’ stumps in the first over itself.
However, the 22-year-old sustained an unfortunate injury while fielding.
The incident happened in the 13th over, when in an attempt to take a catch, Afridi had a nasty fall. Though he managed to complete the catch, sending Harry Brook back to the pavilion, the injury proved to be the turning point of the game.
Afridi used all his might to return in the bowling attack in the 16th over, but under overwhelming agony, his legs gave up after only a solitary delivery. England scored 13 runs from the rest five deliveries, which were bowled by part-time spinner Iftikhar Ahmed, and from then onwards, there was no coming back for Babar Azam’s team.
However, the young speedster has received praise for his valorous effort. Former England captain Michael Vaughan tweeted "Have to say the Shaheen Afridi Injury had a major impact on the outcome of the game."
"I can feel for you. U have always given ur best bro. Ur a star for Pakistan. Ur fighting instinct and efforts will always be appreciated! Respect for you ! Love you bro," Wahab Riaz wrote.
Here's how the cricket fraternity reacted to Shaheen Afridi's injury:
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