Shaheen Shah Afridi Injured: Three Players Who Can Replace Left-Arm Ace in Pakistan Squad for Asia Cup 2022
The left-arm pacer, as announced, will be out of the Asia Cup as well as T20Is against England due to a knee ligament injury. Pakistan will hope for him to recover before the T20 World Cup.
Pakistan on Saturday, received a major blow to their chances at the upcoming Asia Cup after star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee ligament injury. A report claimed that he has been advised a four-six weeks' rest and will also miss the T20Is against England, in order to be fit for the T20 World Cup in Australia. A player of Afridi's talent missing out for Pakistan in the crucial Asia Cup competition is undoubtedly a major jolt for the Green Shirts. Shaheen Shah Afridi Injured: Netizens React After Pakistan Left-Arm Pacer Gets Ruled Out of Asia Cup 2022
The Pakistan Cricket Board is yet to name a replacement for the left-arm paceman. Afridi's injury does make room for other players to step up and shine while making a name for themselves in the national jersey. Let us take a look at three potential replacements for Shaheen Afridi at the Asia Cup 2022:
1) Mir Hamza: Shaheen Afridi getting ruled out has a lot of people calling for Mir Hamza to be his replacement. Hamza would be a direct replacement for Afridi as he too is a left-arm paceman. Given many teams' weakness against left-arm bowlers, the Pakistan Cricket Board might just give the nod to Hamza.
2) Hassan Ali: Hassan Ali is also a potential replacement for the injured Shaheen Shah Afridi. The veteran seamer has the experience of competing in tournaments like the Asia Cup and that is surely going to come in handy for Pakistan.
3) Mohammad Amir: This might be a bit unlikely, but Pakistan can also opt to have Mohammad Amir. A left-arm paceman, he had announced his international retirement back in 2020 before stating his availability for Pakistan cricket once again.
There might be a lot of questions hovering over who will be Shaheen Shah Afridi's ideal replacement and only time will reveal the name picked by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2022 05:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).