mobanmarketPakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi believes that if he had not picked up the knee injury which prevented him from bowling out his quota of overs in the T20 World Cup final last year, Pakistan cricket team could have actually won the title.
Batting first, Pakistan had set England a target of 138 at the MCG in the T20 World Cup final, before Afridi picked up a knee injury in the 13th over of England’s innings while taking a catch of Harry Brook at long-off. While he initially hobbled off, he soon returned and was handed the ball in the 16th over. At that point, England needed 41 runs off 30.
But in the first ball itself, it became apparent Afridi could not continue. His 2.1 overs had seen Afridi pick up the wicket of opener Alex Hales while conceding an economical 13 runs. England went on to chase down the total with six balls remaining and five wickets in hand.
“Obviously, it’s every player’s dream to win a World Cup for his country,” he told ESPNCricinfo. “And in this tournament (2022 T20 World Cup), if I didn’t get injured at such a crucial moment, maybe we could’ve won. Maybe if I had stayed fit and bowled… Injuries can happen at any time.”
On being asked how much still think about that game, he replied: “If I think too much about them then I won’t be able to move ahead.”