Despite setting a below-par total in the 20-20 World Cup final, Pakistan was completely in the game until the 16th over of England’s chase. Pakistan’s ferocious pace attack had put England on the back foot, with even Ben Stokes struggling.
However, Shaheen Afridi injured his knee again, this time while attempting a catch, forcing the star bowler to miss his final two overs. Iftikhar Ahmed was brought in by captain Babar Azam to bowl out Shaheen’s incomplete third over, and England took advantage of it to race away with the trophy.
Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar was upset that Shaheen missed those two crucial overs, believing that he should have risked everything because it was the World Cup final. Shaheen could have taken painkillers instead, according to Akhtar.
“When your main bowler becomes unfit, then it creates problems for you. Shaheen (Afridi) was never fully fit, but we cannot put the entire blame on him as he bowled well in the past 2-3 matches. But this is the World Cup final. Even if the leg breaks. Whatever happens, happens. Just keep running and do something. But this was not in our fortune,” he had told Zee News.
When you numb your feet, the pain is not felt. Yes, you are risking the career of the young man. It is a World Cup final, whether you can risk or not that you have to think as a captain. It is a tough decision,” he added.
Main nehin samajhta ki yeh jayas baat hai: Shahid Afridi
When former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was asked the same question during an interview with Samaa TV, he lashed out at his former teammate, saying that painkillers have a lot of side effects on the body and should only be used in moderation.
“Nehin, nehin, nehin…main nehin samajhta ki yeh jayas baat hai. Painkillers sirf akhti taur pe hota hai. Humne bhi bohot dafa kiya hai. But uske bhi side effects bohot saare hote hai. Kyunki uss time toh sunn ho jati hai and pain khatam ho jati hai, but pain aur zyada bar jaati hai next day. (No, no…not at all, it’s wrong. Painkillers should be taken in a disciplined manner. I too used to take it. But it has a lot of side effects. It does numb the pain for a while, but after the match day, it tends to pain even more),” he said.
