Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi is expected to recover from a knee injury in time for the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to be played in India and Sri Lanka from early February.
Afridi sustained a knee issue while playing for the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League. He was subsequently released by the franchise and called back to Pakistan for rehabilitation under the supervision of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s medical team.
Injury and Rehabilitation Progress
During a talent hunt launched by Lahore Qalandars, Afridi gave important updates on his injury. “My rehab is ongoing, with the PCB team monitoring it. I’m doing gym work and working on my batting at the moment. I’ll start bowling from next week. It’s not as serious as it was last time. There’s a bit of swelling on the bone. The MRI report wasn’t that [concerning], this might not take a month. It’s more like a week,” Afridi said.
Also Read: On This Day in Cricket History – 12 January
Afridi has referred to earlier knee problems in his career, including a previous injury in 2022 that kept him out of action for an extended period. That earlier setback, also involving the same knee, occurred during a Test match and affected his availability in major tournaments.
Pakistan players’ performance in the BBL
Afridi was one of the five Pakistani players who participated in the BBL. Former captain Babar Azam made 154 runs in eight games, while Rizwan scored 167 runs. Both batters have scored runs at a strike rate of less than 110. They have been criticised in the past for their strike rate, and it was one of the reasons why they were dropped from the T20I squad.
“There’s always ups and downs in any sport,” Afridi said. “But the aim is to learn from everywhere so that when you play for your country, you’ve improved. Our focus was that we see how we can improve when it comes to playing for our country, what errors can we rectify, what good things we can continue with. It’s not necessary that you go there and take five wickets every game or score a 50 or 100 in every game. Babar is also human. Everyone is trying to improve.”
Pakistan’s squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Pakistan is yet to announce the squad for the T20 World Cup 2026. The team recently played a three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka, which ended in a draw. Pakistan is scheduled to play all their matches in the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
Also Read: Pakistan begin 2026 with dominant T20I win over Sri Lanka
“We’ve played a lot of good cricket over the last year,” said Afridi, who was appointed the ODI captain last year. “Anytime you go to a country before a tournament and play some games there, it helps the players, and I hope it does in this case also.”
