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Should Pakistan risk Shaheen Shah Afridi's career by playing him in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022?

MenInG

MenInG

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This is what Aaqib Javed says:

“Fast bowlers like Shaheen Afridi are not born every day. My advice to Shaheen Afridi is not to play the upcoming T20 World Cup because Shaheen is more important than this World Cup,"

==

Now we know PCB's record on taking care of medical issues of their players is NOT exemplary - so what Aaqib says is a valid statement.

Your views?
 
Shaheen shouldn’t play

But the management are desperate for him to play because their futures depend on him.

A first round exit means:

-Ramiz will be sacked
-Saqlain will be sacked
-Babar will be sacked
-Rizwan will be banished to the Middle order
-Muhammad Wasim will be back on PTV

So much at stake!
 
He shouldn’t play for 2 reasons.

1. Why risk his whole career.
2. I highly doubt he can perform at peak level so early after recovery anyway and if they are depending on him, they need to a peak shaheen.
 
Obviously don't play him if he's not fit but if he's fit then he should play.
No need to complicate things it's a simple formula.

'Oh don't play him just incase'
It's a world cup when else are you going to play your best player.
 
No. T20 World cup is not that important a tournament to risk the career of a potential ATG fast bowler who's in his early 20s.

Pakistan will need him badly for the home tests against England ,New Zealand to have any chance of making the WTC final and then of course the 2023 world Cup.
 
To be honest we don't have any hope in this World Cup due to Babar's timid captaincy, Clueless Saqlain's yes man attitude, no power hitter and no middle order. Shaheen better rest so as Nasim and Rauf. We should come back strongly with a professional coach and captaincy under Shadab.No point to participate for the sake of it.
 
Mesozoic said:
No. T20 World cup is not that important a tournament to risk the career of a potential ATG fast bowler who's in his early 20s.

Pakistan will need him badly for the home tests against England ,New Zealand to have any chance of making the WTC final and then of course the 2023 world Cup.
Click to expand...

We are already out of the equation due to pathetic Saqlain's yes man attitude and Babar's timid captaincy.
 
Rana said:
Shaheen shouldn’t play

But the management are desperate for him to play because their futures depend on him.

A first round exit means:

-Ramiz will be sacked
-Saqlain will be sacked
-Babar will be sacked
-Rizwan will be banished to the Middle order
-Muhammad Wasim will be back on PTV

So much at stake!
Click to expand...

Agreed, this is where I hope his father-in-law, Shahid Afridi, will advise him to sit it out because Shaheen will probably go with his heart rather than his head to rush his comeback.
 
If he is not able to play in the tri series or at minimum the two warm up games he should not play .

Need some game time before a big tournament.
 
It's a tin pot trophy that noone cares about at all. And everyone forgets who won it a few years later. I don't even remember most T20 WC winners. It'd be typical of PCB to ruin our players career over this
 
Pakpak said:
It's a tin pot trophy that noone cares about at all. And everyone forgets who won it a few years later. I don't even remember most T20 WC winners. It'd be typical of PCB to ruin our players career over this
Click to expand...

But it’s the one trophy they can probably fluke a win alongside the champions trophy, and use the win as leverage for future decision making, especially decisions which depend on serious financial incentives.
 
Shafi said:
We are already out of the equation due to pathetic Saqlain's yes man attitude and Babar's timid captaincy.
Click to expand...


Not really. Pakistan are more or less in the final if we they win 4 out of their retaining 5 tests. And that is certainly not out of the realm of possibility especially when playing at home. But if Shaheen misses out due to an aggravated injury , then Pakistan win do well to win even 2 of those tests with the kind of bowling attack they have.

Shaheen is more crucial to Pakistan's test bowling attack than he is of the mickey mouse T20 format.
 
Wonder if Aaib Javed would be saying the same if LQ were about to play in final of the PSL.
 
If he is fit and cleared by medical team then he must play. As simple as that.
 
If he is unfit he shouldn’t play. It is unfair to him and the team. I really hope though that he recovers to full health prior to WC.
 
MenInG said:
Wonder if Aaib Javed would be saying the same if LQ were about to play in final of the PSL.
Click to expand...

This is the comment of the thread!
It's all about vested interest with ex players and pundits unfortunately.

Off course if he isnt fit, h shouldn't play.
If he is cleared by medical team and he himself feels ready , then he plays
If there are any doubts he shouldn't.
 
If hes fit he should play
If hes not fit he shouldnt play

Simple formula Its not difficult
 
Pakistan have 4-5 bowlers who can fill in for him in the sense who can bowl 150 with swing in the first few overs in T20.

Pakistan need him for longer formats and with ODI wc around the corner especially in favorable conditions (India) he would be needed more for that I would assume.

Obviously depends on how serious his injury is.

People may not like this but while Pakistan T20 bowling is intimidating, most of these guys can’t keep up in 2nd-3rd spells from what little I have seen (they might have improved since. I don’t know so don’t jump on me) so their pace is ideal for batsmen to cash-in in those formats.
 
PCT needs a Pace bowling rotation policy, most of PCT’s best bowlers are young and prone to injury.

They shouldn’t over bowl SSA right now and instead go with Naseem, imagine fully fit Naseem and Shaheen playing together in the ODI wc, it would be a treat for fans.
 
The like of Aqib Javed are of no use to Pakistan cricket. Hes only saying this because he needs Shaheen for Lahore Qalandars. What a shameless opportunistic man. We are not saving Shaheen for bilaterals and with zero silverware to show for. We already have lost two big opps for silverware in the past two years. With the current talented generation we have which has more mental grit than the former generation, we need to win silverware in the next two years and Shaheen would be key in achieving that.
 
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He should be rested in the world cup, and be only allowed to play meaningless t20s.

Like what even.

This is an icc tournament, if you are gonna rest your cricketers here than it serves no purpose i guess
 
He should be rested for PSL. If he is fully fit, only only then he should play the t20 world cup otherwise he should sit out.

Pakistan have got good bowlers they can fill in for Shaheen.
 
MenInG said:
This is what Aaqib Javed says:

“Fast bowlers like Shaheen Afridi are not born every day. My advice to Shaheen Afridi is not to play the upcoming T20 World Cup because Shaheen is more important than this World Cup,"

==

Now we know PCB's record on taking care of medical issues of their players is NOT exemplary - so what Aaqib says is a valid statement.

Your views?
Click to expand...

Does anyone know how it was determined that it is a serious risk for SSA to play CWC this year? How do we know for sure.
 
People here want Pakistan to ‘rest’ their main pace bowler in an ICC tournament? Are you guys alright?

Aqib has the tendency to say random stuff just to stay relevant (and for headlines). The man has contributed next to nothing to Pakistan cricket, and his advice should not be taken seriously.
 
Resting a key player for a key world cup.
Wow.
Might as well rest Babar and Naseem to elongate their careers
 
Usman Chadda said:
People here want Pakistan to ‘rest’ their main pace bowler in an ICC tournament? Are you guys alright?

Aqib has the tendency to say random stuff just to stay relevant (and for headlines). The man has contributed next to nothing to Pakistan cricket, and his advice should not be taken seriously.
Click to expand...
Are you sure?

That slower ball off cutter wicket in the semi final of the 1992 World Cup was sublime
 
It's not about 'resting'.

Use some common sense guys it's not that hard.

Shaheen isn't playing any of the 12 odd games leading upto the worldcup because he is obviously not fit.

If you followed comments from the skipper to Mohd Wasim, none of them said Shaheen would definitely be fit for WC. They said they hope he makes it in time thus hinting his selection is pretty much provisional atm.

So it's pretty clear he is going to need his healing process to be real quick for him to have a chance and as such, it's absolutely logical to have apprehensions the TM would try to rush it.

It has happened in the past it can happen again and it's dangerous especially when it is to such a prized asset.

Aqib is 100% right here and I'm not sure why are people arguing just for the sake of it.
 
I don't believe a single word coming out of Aqib Javed's mouth, and neither should you.
 
Shaheen should on the plane as fringe player and if req should be incl. Otherwise Aaqib is right coming back straight after injury and in a hectic world cup that's not very easy
 
Rana said:
Are you sure?

That slower ball off cutter wicket in the semi final of the 1992 World Cup was sublime
Click to expand...
One slower ball doesn’t make up for the garbage that comes out of his mouth.

The likes of Aamer Sohail and Aqib Javed were average cricketers riding the high of the 90s actual superstars.
 
Usman Chadda said:
One slower ball doesn’t make up for the garbage that comes out of his mouth.

The likes of Aamer Sohail and Aqib Javed were average cricketers riding the high of the 90s actual superstars.
Click to expand...

He talks straight facts. I’m sorry if you don’t like the guy but you can’t fault him for speaking the truth.

He is a bit of an opportunist for situations that suit him but he hits the nail on it’s head.
 
I for one cannot wait to see Naseem and Shaheen bowling in tandem.
 
If he gets medically cleared by the doctors in London, then it is fine assuming he does play in the warm up matches prior to the India match.

If he's not medically cleared and doesn't play in the warm-up matches, then I don't think you play him. At the end of the day, his health is more than a WC. Particularly a T20 WC which happens every 2 years.
 
Salman Butt speaking in an interview:

"Shaheen is not a one World Cup player. He can play the next five, if he stays fit. World Cups will come and go. If he is rushed, this injury could be career threatening. The ODI World Cup next year, and in the next 10 years there will be two more. So, in order to prolong his career, you need to preserve him. If he didn't get injured, he would've played every game, and Naseem might've not made his debut"
 
Can't believe these ex players. They seem to be taking world cups for granted. After all the drama in 15 years, Ind and Pak have won the T20 WC just once. India even played at home and failed. You have to grab the opportunity when u get it. You can rest for 6 months after the WC. Who knows how long a sporting career would be? Take every opportunity
 
kingusama92 said:
It's a world cup.

If he's fine, he should play.
Click to expand...

I don’t think people realise how pivotal a knee injury is for a fast bowler’s career.

There will be t20 world cups very regular anyway. There will be 50 over world cups too. This is not like the 90s where you have a World Cup only every 4 years.

Pointless risking him. Personally, we have a pretty decent bowling line up - not a one man bowling line up by any means and we can actually afford leaving him out.
 
Just hope SSA is not being rushed in for the India clash.
 
Even if he's 100% fit, he should sit this one out for two reasons:

1. He needs match practice
2. Babar and Rizwan will ensure Pakistan will fail in humiliating fashion
 
World Cups are when you risk your players. What are we saving Shaheen for? The context-less T20s against New Zealand later this year?
 
Compare this with Rohit Sharma and India view:

==

Team India was given a body blow ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a back injury. The management might have named Mohammed Shami as a replacement for the injured pacer, but the question on everyone's minds is how the team will fair without the services of lead pacer, who is almost irreplaceable at the death. On Saturday, speaking to media, skipper Rohit Sharma spoke about the injury to Bumrah, and how saving his career is more important than the World Cup.

"We spoke to a lot of the specialists about his injuries, but we did not get a decent response. This World Cup is important, but his career is more important. He is only 27-28, there is a lot of cricket in front of him," Rohit said.

"So, we can't take such a risk. All the specialists we spoke to were of the same opinion. There is a lot of cricket ahead of him, he will play a lot more and help India win matches. There is no doubt that he will be missed," he added.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Friday named Mohammed Shami as the replacement for the injured Jasprit Bumrah. Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj were also named as backups.

"Injuries are part and parcel of the sport, there is nothing much that can be done about it. If you play these many games, injuries are bound to happen. That is why our focus over the last year was to create bench strength and wherever we got the opportunity, we gave younger guys a go. As far as Shami goes, he tested positive for COVID-19 2-3 weeks back and he was there at his farm, he then went to NCA and did his rehab there. He is there in Brisbane right now," said Rohit.

"The Indian team will reach Brisbane from Perth, we have a practice session tomorrow. He will practice with the team, whatever we have heard about Shami till now, it has been positive. He has had good 3-4 bowling sessions. But again, when it comes to injuries, we have tried really hard to manage our players in the last 1-2 years. But it is unfortunate and you cannot do much about it. This is the reason we wanted to create bench strength," he added.

NDTV
 
Bilal7 said:
World Cups are when you risk your players. What are we saving Shaheen for? The context-less T20s against New Zealand later this year?
Click to expand...

Some would say test matches and future World Cups.

God forbid, if he gets injured again due to coming back too early, then you will think back at this post you just wrote.
 
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LegendAli said:
Some would say test matches and future World Cups.

God forbid, if he gets injured again due to coming back too early, then you will think back at this post you just wrote.
Click to expand...

Risk may backfire like he can break down half way through the match or may not be fully effective. Fast bowling is the most thankless job in cricket. Especially all format bowlers in addition to leagues are prone to injuries. Natrajan, Chahar, Bumrah all 3 were not remotely even at their 30 to 40% best when they returned. Pakistan has more than able replacements unlike India who had to rely on someone who hardly plays T20 internationals.
 
Bilal7 said:
World Cups are when you risk your players. What are we saving Shaheen for? The context-less T20s against New Zealand later this year?
Click to expand...

Saving him for a great career that his magnificent talent deserves.
 
No need to risk him. He should sit out if he is not fully fit. He has great career ahead of him no need to risk him for a t20 world cup.
 
Shaheen is struggling. Hope this is not serious.
 
Idea must have been that even a half fit Shaheen is better than next available bowler, but this is just careless.

Don't lose this bowler to avoidable injuries please.
 
He doesn't look fit. The run up is clearly not smooth and his pace is significantly down.

I really really hope he gets no serious damage being forced into playing.
 
Nowhere near 100% fit and struggled today.

But he's a fighter and gave it all.

I just hope by playing him today it doesn't affect his chances of playing in upcoming matches.
 
He is not even fit.
Why did they rush him and why was he giving interviews about being back to full pace.
 
Clearly he is unfit and he looked really lethargic.

Should have played Hasnain.
 
He is not match-ready yet. Too soon to bring him. He looks listless, He lacked rhythm. accuracy, intensity. Looked heavy-footed. Mostly off the target. He is just not the same bowler we saw before the injury. Not surprising. pretty much every bowler who returned from injury took a while to gain their rhythm back. They should play that all-rounder seamer. He has a pretty good yorker at death. Bumrah took more than 8 months to gain rhythm back after injury.
 
Aaqib once again on Shaheen

"They shouldn't have rushed to play Shaheen - Still there is time, talk to Shaheen, if he is not fully fit, don't take risk."

"See, Shaheen has knee issues. It can put him in long-term injury"

"I know about insecurities players have. But your future is more important. So, Shaheen should think first and then the team management should talk to him"
 
MenInG said:
Aaqib once again on Shaheen

"They shouldn't have rushed to play Shaheen - Still there is time, talk to Shaheen, if he is not fully fit, don't take risk."

"See, Shaheen has knee issues. It can put him in long-term injury"

"I know about insecurities players have. But your future is more important. So, Shaheen should think first and then the team management should talk to him"
Click to expand...

He was right the first time and everyone accused Aqib of caring about LQ more than Pakistan

He is right once again.

PCB are just forcing Shaheen to play so that the stakeholders can hopefully save their jobs through his success
 
The Pakistan Crick- down as coach are facing numerous questions on whether premier fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has recovered enough from a knee injury to be match fit for the ongoing T20 World Cup

Former fast bowling greats, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, former captain Misbah-ul Haq and Lahore Qalanders head coach Aaqib Javed all are of the opinion that Shaheen looked short of match fitness and practice during Sunday’s game against India in Melbourne.

“This was not the Shaheen that we know. His rhythm was not there and it begs the question, has he been picked in the side too early, and is he match-fit now for such a big tournament?” Waqar asked.

Shaheen, who suffered a knee injury while fielding in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle in mid-July, went into the crucial World Cup match against India after bowling just six overs in two warm-up games in Brisbane.

Pakistan’s former captain and head coach Waqar said when the team was in New Zealand for the tri-series before the World Cup, he had spoken to Babar Azam, Saqlain Mushtaq and the team doctor about Shaheen’s fitness.

“I asked them about his progress and reminded them no matter how much he bowled in the nets but playing in a World Cup match was a totally different situation,” said Waqar.

“I asked them if his rehab was going well then why not try out him in the tri-series instead of waiting for the World Cup.”

Akram also agreed and said that Shaheen looked short on match practice against India.

“He didn’t appear to have that zip in his bowling. That is understandable because any fast bowler returning from a knee injury is concerned at first about going flat out. Let’s see how quickly he gains full match fitness,” he said.

Aaqib, who has worked closely with Shaheen at the Lahore Qalanders franchise, said there was no doubt that Shaheen was not his usual self against India. “He looked anxious and reluctant to really bend his back and that is natural when you are making a comeback from a knee injury. I just wonder whether he has been rushed back into competitive cricket early,” the former Test bowler said.

Shaheen, who has been Pakistan’s most lethal bowler in the last two years, went for 25 runs in his last two overs against India and conceded 19 runs in his final over to give India a chance of winning the thrilling match on Sunday.

Misbah said he had always believed in only fielding a player who was 100 per cent match-fit.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/spor...hah-afridi-was-rushed-into-action/cid/1894254
 
Shaheens presence is being over rated. Yes he is Pakistan's best pacer in the last few years but he has also shown numerous times that he can badly choke under pressure ie against Wade in 2021 and Kohli in 2022. Pakistan's desperation to play him at 70% fitness makes no sense. A 100% fit player is a better choice
 
Savak said:
Shaheens presence is being over rated. Yes he is Pakistan's best pacer in the last few years but he has also shown numerous times that he can badly choke under pressure ie against Wade in 2021 and Kohli in 2022. Pakistan's desperation to play him at 70% fitness makes no sense. A 100% fit player is a better choice
Click to expand...

I won’t count the India match of this year. PCB being PCB by first making a complete mess of his rehab- heard he was delayed the procedure initially. If PCB took action from the start in getting his knee fixed rather than wasting time, he’d be fit and firing by now.

Secondly, him not being fit, and yet management still forcing him to play. Wasim, Waqar both can see he’s not 100% and clearly restraining himself.

They’re risking yet another player’s well-being like so many before him.

So I won’t count it. It’s like boxing a boxer with one hand tied behind his back.
 
Suleiman said:
I won’t count the India match of this year. PCB being PCB by first making a complete mess of his rehab- heard he was delayed the procedure initially. If PCB took action from the start in getting his knee fixed rather than wasting time, he’d be fit and firing by now.

Secondly, him not being fit, and yet management still forcing him to play. Wasim, Waqar both can see he’s not 100% and clearly restraining himself.

They’re risking yet another player’s well-being like so many before him.

So I won’t count it. It’s like boxing a boxer with one hand tied behind his back.
Click to expand...

According to news reports, Shaheen pressured the team management and the PCB that he was ready and keen to play. The PCB conceeded to him.
 
Most of the media and fans were apprehensive about Shaheen's return but the hurry in brinfing a half-fit Shaheen hurt pak in this world cup edition. In a 15 member squad they had an unfit Fakhar and half-fit Shaheen . Making it s squad of 13.5. If we ignore Kushdil, Haider n Asif based on their performance pak had only 10.5 members to play with.
 
Savak said:
According to news reports, Shaheen pressured the team management and the PCB that he was ready and keen to play. The PCB conceeded to him.
Click to expand...

No one should be able to "pressure" the board or management in this regard. An objective assessment on his fitness is what should've dictated the decision.

It's ludicrous to try and bring someone "back to match fitness" during a WC. Sure he's our best bowler and his opening spells are crucial to our chances, but no one should make the team if they're not fully fit.
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Bad news regarding Shaheen Shah Afridi. He is likely to miss the home series against England and New Zealand between December 2022 and January 2023 after aggravating a knee injury <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1592095650413707264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Looks like Pakistan have no choice but to now prepare rank turners against Eng/NZ

They can only play 2 proper seamers and will need 2-3 spinners to do the bulk work

Naseem
Hassan
Yasir
Nauman
Shadab
 
Rana said:
Looks like Pakistan have no choice but to now prepare rank turners against Eng/NZ

They can only play 2 proper seamers and will need 2-3 spinners to do the bulk work

Naseem
Hassan
Yasir
Nauman
Shadab
Click to expand...
Nauman and Yasin have been awful in last 2 series they can't even take 5-6 wickets against aussies who are poor players of spin bowling. Time to call abrar forget 2 series
 
Rana said:
Looks like Pakistan have no choice but to now prepare rank turners against Eng/NZ

They can only play 2 proper seamers and will need 2-3 spinners to do the bulk work

Naseem
Hassan
Yasir
Nauman
Shadab
Click to expand...

I think Rauf will be in the squad.
 
Its one thing for Shaheen's knee to be ready for bowling duties, running but he got this injury while fielding and he has reaggravated while fielding. Pakistan needs to designate proper fielding positions for him where he does not have to dive because the knee will take a long time to heal.

Pakistan has decent fast bowling reserves where we can afford to rest Shaheen for a good 4-5 months giving sufficient time for the knee to heal.
 
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