When Shaheen Afridi Went Through Career-Halting Knee Surgery 

image-lr4lorylShaheen Afridi went through surgery after 2022 T20 World Cup (Twitter)

As Shaheen Afridi gears up for his maiden assignment as Pakistan's T20I captain across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand, it begs belief that only 15 months back, the left-arm speedster had considered giving up the sport altogether at the tender age of 21 owing to his knee injury struggles. 

Shaheen, who had hurt his knee during the 2022 trip to Sri Lanka, was reduced to a brace for support by September that year when Pakistan entered the Asia Cup in UAE.

The cricketer was advised of surgery to resolve the problem. However, he declined the suggestion and delayed facing the knife in his quest to make the T20 World Cup played in Australia in October-November. 

Out of sheer will and defiance, the young gun managed to play the biannual ICC tournament and helped Pakistan reach the final at the MCG versus England, where, unfortunately, a recurrence of the knee injury left him with no option but to undergo surgery. 

When Shaheen Underwent Knee Surgery 

Shaheen missed the next six months of cricketing action in a painstaking period for the earnest bowler, who felt frustrated and annoyed by the length of the rehabilitation programme, which had to be extended because of surgery. 

Things reached a point where the Pakistani fast-bowling hope even considered giving up the sport before the national jersey and his previous performances for the country acted as two major sources of motivation for him to fight his way back. 

"There were times when I wanted to give up. I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving. Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore," he had said on Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) YouTube channel last year. 

"But then I used to watch my bowling on YouTube and see how well I had done and that motivated me and I told myself ‘to push a little more’ … It is frustrating for a fast bowler to miss cricket because of an injury," Shaheen added.