Shaheen Shah Afridi: “There were times when I wanted to give up. I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving. Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore’”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi has admitted that he thought about giving up after suffering back-to-back knee injuries last year.
He initially hurt his knee during Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka before re-injuring it in the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
The 23-year-old, who leads Pakistan’s fast bowling attack in all three formats, conceded his rehabilitation process was incredibly frustrating at times as it seemed that he was not making any progress. This led him to contemplate if could make a full recovery.
“There were times when I wanted to give up,” he told PCB Digital. “I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving. Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore’.”
Afridi is back playing international cricket and recently took six wickets in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at an average of 26.17. The series ended up finishing as a 2-2 draw even though Pakistan won the first two games.
The two sides are now playing a five-match ODI series, which Pakistan leads 1-0 after winning the first match by five wickets.
The second ODI will be held on Saturday in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan squad for ODI series against New Zealand: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir