Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt is surprised by the exaggeration to fast bowler Shaheen Afridi being ruled out of the 2022 Asia Cup. Accepting that the left-arm seamer’s absence will be a major blow to the team, he added that people should stop acting as if the Pakistan team will be totally disabled without him.
On August 20 (Saturday), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) established through an official Notice release that Afridi would not be available for the Asia Cup due to player a knee injury. Following the development, fans along with some former players from Pakistan stated a lot of concern over his unavailability.
Sharing his thinking on his official YouTube channel, Butt told that there is no want for such an exaggerated reaction. Questioning the extreme reactions, he said:
“Is this the last India-Pakistan match? Is this the last Asia Cup? I know the kind of impact Shaheen makes. Yes, he is a key player. But should we demotivate the rest of the squad by worrying so much about it and reacting as if there is no solution? Backup players are readied for these days. Unless they play, how will they gain experience and learn?”
Shaheen’s injury Big relief for the Indian top order batsmen. Sad we won’t be seeing him in #AsiaCup2022 Get fit soon Champ @iShaheenAfridi pic.twitter.com/Fosph7yVHs
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) August 20, 2022
Apart from the Asia Cup 2022, Afridi is also fixed to miss the home series against England. PCB, however, is optimistic that he will be fit in time for the T20 World Cup in Australia in October-November this year.
An official declaration by PCB chief medical officer Dr. Najeebullah Soomro added that the left-arm seamer is a bit concerned over being ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022.
“Mohammad Amir is a retired cricketer” – Salman Butt on whether left-arm seamer can replacement with Shaheen Afridi
During the talk, Butt also dismissed the hint that expert left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir could be a likely replacement for Afridi. The former opener stated that Amir is a retired player and does not play any proper aggressive cricket. In answer to a user query, he commented:
“Mohammad Amir is a retired player. There is no place for emotional decisions in this professional field. He has not played any competitive cricket in terms of domestic or tournaments that have proper recognition. He plays in some leagues. He is a good bowler, in fact, an excellent bowler, no doubt about that. But he has not taken back his retirement yet. What is the point of discussing something that cannot happen?”
m trending on twitter but why🤔
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) August 20, 2022
Attractively, after Afridi was ruled out of the Asia Cup 2022, Amir took to Twitter and stationed a cheeky tweet, which read, “m bending on Twitter but why.” The 30-year-old announced his retirement from international cricket in December 2020.
Also read:- Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi ruled out of Asia Cup 2022 due to injury