The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Saturday that Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of Asia Cup 2022 due to injury. Afridi had faced a knee injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka and was forced to miss the side's ODI tour of the Netherlands as well. He did travel with the squad to remain in close contact with the team's physio, but eventually failed to recover in time for the continental tournament that starts August 27.
Following his absence from the Asia Cup, there were calls for the likes of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz to place the left-arm speedster. Amir, however, hasn't appeared for Pakistan in over a year – he had retired from international cricket in December 2020 and even as Amir made himself available for selection in June last year, the selectors have not considered him so far.
Wahab Riaz, meanwhile, last played for the national team in December 2020 in a T20I against New Zealand. Amid calls for the star bowlers to return to the side, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has shared an astonishing story from his U19 days, revealing that even Wasim Akram, after all of his achievements, had to prove himself to make a comeback.
"We were sitting at a Pizza Hut in Lahore at 12 AM one time. I received a call from Asad Mustafa, who was the logistics head at PCB. He told me to come to Karachi through night coach because there's a three-day game between Pakistan and Pakistan A, and I had to play there.
{{/usCountry}}"We were sitting at a Pizza Hut in Lahore at 12 AM one time. I received a call from Asad Mustafa, who was the logistics head at PCB. He told me to come to Karachi through night coach because there's a three-day game between Pakistan and Pakistan A, and I had to play there.
{{/usCountry}}“So we finished our food, packed the kit bag and reached airport. I had only three hours because the flight was at 3 AM. I reached at around 5:30 or 6. And we had to go to the ground at 7. When we reached the ground, we came to know that the only thing they wanted to check in that match was how Wasim bhai was bowling, because he was making a comeback,” Butt revealed on his official YouTube channel.
“Wasim bhai picked 5 wickets and I watched all of them depart from the other end. So, Wasim bhai had to prove himself there. If they can check Wasim bhai's form, the rest... it is their duty to prove themselves."