Aaqib Javed: “We were surprised to see him play cricket with such weak eyesight”
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Former Pakistan pace bowler Aaqib Javed has revealed that left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi’s eyesight was terrible and he was shocked how he was playing cricket.
Afridi was selected by the Lahore Qalandars as an emerging player in the third season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), but during a training session as the ICC Academy in Dubai, Javed was stunned to find out how bad Afridi’s eyesight was.
In order to resolve the problem, Afridi got contact lenses and he has since gone on to become one of the top bowlers in the world today.
“During a practice session at the ICC Academy, when all our players were practicing long catches, Shaheen’s response was a bit different compared to everyone else. He was moving a little late,” Javed told Cricket Pakistan. “So I asked him after the session if there is any issue with his eyesight.
“He said he used to have an issue but can still play. So we decided to get his eyesight checked. We were shocked after getting his report, as the number on his one eye was 5.6 and other one was 2.5. We were surprised to see him play cricket with such weak eyesight.
“Your eyesight is so important while fielding or when aiming to hit certain spots on the pitch while bowling. Then we decided to get him some contact lenses which worked.”