Star pacer Shaheen Afridi, who was forced off the field by a knee injury in the final of T20 World Cup, which Pakistan lost to England, is not down with despair but rather geared up to return with a bang to make the country proud.
Despite the defeat, a humbled Afridi said it was an honour for him to have done his bit as a member of a world-class team and was willing to sacrifice more for the country if required.
“We are ready to give anything for Pakistan. Absolutely proud to be a small part of this great team. We gave it all and, InshaAllah, the hard work will continue,” Afridi tweeted on Monday.
Afridi had to limp off the field due to knee discomfort during the final and was unable to deliver his final two overs, which could have changed the course of the match for the better.
The pacer took a brilliant catch of Harry Brook to send the middle-order batter back to the pavilion but injured his knee in the process.
“Shaheen Afridi landed awkwardly on his right knee. The medical panel is treating him and will provide any further update in due course,” the PCB said in a brief statement, soon after the injury.
It must be noted that Ben Stokes and Sam Curran starred as England battered Pakistan to win the final and become the sport’s first dual white-ball champions, holding both the 50 and 20-over titles.
Jos Buttler’s side pinned Pakistan to 137-8 in front of a zealot of 80,462 fans at a billowing Melbourne Cricket Ground, with player-of-the-match Curran bagging 3-12 and Adil Rashid chipping in with 2-22.
In reply, England slumped to 49-3 in the sixth over as they struggled to get any momentum against a fiery pace attack, with boundaries hard to come by.
But Stokes (52 not out) and Moeen Ali (19) used their experience and cool heads to guide England to 138-5 with six balls to spare, climaxing a riveting tournament that spanned 45 games over nearly a month.
