Cricket News: Asia Cup - Is Shaheen Shah Afridi's illness severe and a sign of worry for Pakistan?

Skipper Babar Azam admitted that the pacer would be rested for at least the first two ODI matches to keep him fresh and injury free for the upcoming mega event.

"There are concerns over Shaheen's fitness. We are taking him along because the doctor and the physio are travelling with the team, so he can be looked after well. We are thinking from a long-term perspective. There is the Asia Cup and the World Cup as well," said Babar Azam.

"We're looking long-term at his fitness and health. We want him to play a game against the Netherlands if he's fit and be ready for the Asia Cup," he added.

The seamer suffered a knee injury, forcing him to go out of action, but he was included in the Asia Cup squad. Pakistan management would want their ace bowler to regain fitness before they clash with arch-rivals India in the first clash of the Asia Cup.

His recovery and return to the game will be crucial for their bowling department as pacer Hasan Ali was not included in the squad owing to his ongoing lean patch.

Talking about the same, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt said, "Without Shaheen, Pakistan's attack will not be that impactful."

He raised questions on the workload of management of Shaheen Shah Afridi and new opportunities for youngsters. He said, "We often talked about minimizing the load of Afridi, to not play him everywhere, to save him. But it didn't happen. Now, he's injured and if he's not in the Asia Cup, it's an opportunity for others to prove their mettle. If the youngsters don't step up, questions will be raised on why they were not given chances earlier. Why Shaheen was played everywhere. Why he was overloaded."

Comparing similar situations that India is going through on missing the services of their spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. He highlighted India wouldn't face the same problem as Pakistan as they have given equal chances to new bowlers in every game.

"They keep playing new players in every game. Yes, there's no other bowler like him. They keep changing their team in every match. So I don't think it would be a major issue. Even if there's a major issue, there's a big difference between Bumrah and others."

From the statements, it is clear that Pakistan is highly dependent on Shaheen Shah Afridi and will impact the sides' journey in any mega-event. So his recovery is highly crucial for Men in Green.

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