On Sunday night, Team India will return to action in the shortest format of the game when the side takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in the men’s Asia Cup 2022. This is the first meeting between both sides since the last year’s T20 World Cup where Babar Azam’s men had cruised to a 10-wicket win. However, ahead of the blockbuster encounter on August 28, Pakistan had endured a setback as one of their star bowlers, Shaheen Afridi was ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury.
And now, it seems the problems are not ending anytime soon for the men in green. According to multiple reports, Pakistan’s 21-year-old right-arm pacer Mohammad Wasim is facing an injury scare after hurting his back during a practice session on Thursday. Cricket Pakistan also reports that he was sent to hospital for MRI scans.
Wasim has been an integral part of Pakistan’s limited-overs setup, and has taken part in all of the side’s ODIs and T20Is this year (against Australia, West Indies, and the Netherlands). Notably, Wasim went wicketless in only one match out of 9 (across all formats).
In his previous game for Pakistan against the Netherlands, Wasim had registered impressive figures of 4/36. Hence, losing an in-form Wasim to injury for the first game could be a heavy blow for Pakistan and they would be hoping for his quick recovery ahead of the clash against India.
Earlier on Thursday, a host of India cricketers met Shaheen Afridi during their practice session in Dubai, and enquired about his well-being. Afridi was ruled out with a knee injury that he sustained during the first Test against Sri Lanka last month. He had since travelled with the side to remain in close contact with the team physio, but eventually failed to recover in time for the continental tournament.