Shaheen Afridi: There were times when he wanted to give up

• Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain Lahore Qalandar in the upcoming PSL 8.
• Shaheen suffered a knee injury in November of last year.
• It’s difficult missing home games because of an injury.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, a well-known Pakistani pacer, talked about his arduous rehabilitation process after suffering a knee injury in November of last year and said there were times when he wanted to give up.

Shaheen, who is now fully ready to return to competitive cricket, will captain defending champions Lahore Qalandar in the upcoming PSL 8, his first significant assignment following his recuperation.

“There were times when I felt like giving up,” Shaheen admitted to PCB Digital. “I was only training on one muscle, and it wasn’t improving. During the therapy sessions, I would often tell myself, “This is enough, I can’t do this anymore.”

“But then I used to watch my bowling on YouTube and see how well I did, and it pushed me, and I told myself, ‘push a little harder,’… It’s upsetting for a fast bowler to miss cricket due to an injury.”

Shaheen’s injury occurred at a time when Pakistan was about to play their busiest home schedule in more than a decade, with seven T20Is, three Tests, and two One-Day Internationals against England and New Zealand. There is never a good moment to get hurt, but Shaheen’s injury came at an unfortunate time. Shaheen was absent from all 15 games.

“It’s difficult missing home games because of an injury,” he admits. “Before our Test home season, I even missed the seven England T20Is. I was more upset about missing the Tests since I prefer Test cricket. A bowler’s performance in Test cricket is measured, and I wanted to take wickets against England.”

While asked was there any moment during the 2022-23 home season that made him desire to be in the Pakistan colours, the lanky bowler replied: “It occurred when I was watching the [Multan Test] match and our tailenders were not able to finish the game. “I hoped to hit a few sixes and finish the game for Pakistan,” he laughs. “I also wanted to contribute with the ball when they [England] were scoring a lot of runs.”

Shaheen made it a point to stay in touch with the bowlers. “It is difficult to transition from white ball cricket to red ball cricket because the demands of the Test format are vastly different from those of restricted overs. I spoke with the boys on the phone. Naseem bowls really quickly, and he is cognitively alert and understands what needs to be done. I used to chat with Haris Rauf on a daily basis. I also kept in touch with our other bowlers who played in the Tests.”

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