Pakistan's top fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is unlikely to return to international cricket until April 2023, effectively ruling him out of the five Tests at home against England and New Zealand. Afridi who was given rest because of a knee injury suffered another setback on Saturday when he had to be rushed to hospital in Islamabad for an appendicitis operation.
After Afridi completes his six-week rest from the surgical procedure he will undergo a two-week rehabilitation programme for his knee injury. "This basically means he is definitely ruled out of the three Tests against England being held in December while he will also not be able to appear in the two Tests against New Zealand that follow. According to the source, the PCB and the team management is unlikely to risk playing Afridi in international cricket until next April.
Shaheen had injured his knee after landing awkwardly during the T20 World Cup final earlier this month. The lanky pacer, however, said that he was feeling better after the surgery, and urged everyone to pray for him. "Had an appendectomy today but Alhumdulillah feeling better. Remember me in your prayers," Shaheen captioned a post on Twitter. Notably, appendectomy involves the removal of the appendix. Afridi had earlier suffered a ligament injury in his right knee in July during a Test match against Sri Lanka but had managed to make it to the team for the T20 showpiece.
