Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled an excellent spell on his return to cricket, and Shadab Khan has welcomed him back into the team.
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The T20 World Cup 2022 warm-up match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was interfered by rain, but Pakistan got a huge boost in the match with the return of their ace pacer Shaheen Afridi. Shaheen Afridi bowled an excellent spell on his return and proved his fitness ahead of the mega tournament.
Pakistan opted to bowl, and Afridi was on the song from the very first over of the match. He bowled a brilliant toe-crusher to Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the very first over, which also injured Gurbaz in the process. Afridi also took the wicket of Hazratullah Zazai in his very first over.
Afghanistan managed to score 154-6 runs in the first innings, and Afridi’s spell finished at 4-0-29-2. Apart from Afridi, Haris Rauf also took a couple of wickets in his spell. Mohammad Nabi scored a half-century for the Afghanistan side.
Shadab Khan welcomes back Shaheen Shah Afridi into Pakistan team
Shadab Khan has welcomed Shaheen Afridi back to the Pakistan side. He also asked Shaheen to someday look at him the way he is looking at the ball.
“Kabhi mujhe bhi esay dekho jesay ball ko dekh rahe ho. Welcome back Shaheen Afridi,” Shadab Khan tweeted.
Kabhi mujhe bhi esay dekho jesay ball ko dekh rahe ho. Welcome back @iShaheenAfridi pic.twitter.com/4NguQ5HKQE
— Shadab Khan (@76Shadabkhan) October 19, 2022
Shaheen Afridi’s return is a fantastic news for the Pakistani side going into the Super-12 stage of the tournament. Pakistan will face India in their first match on Sunday at the MCG and looking at Afridi’s record against India, he will be an important asset. Afridi took the wickets of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the last T20 World Cup match.
Afridi got injured during the test series against Sri Lanka earlier this year, and he also missed the Asia Cup 2022. It was unsure whether Afridi will get fit for the World Cup or not, but he recovered in time, and he is looking in excellent rhythm as well.