Shaheen Shah Afridi has not been around much for Pakistan over the last year. In between two injuries, he has played 16 international matches, less than a third of Pakistan’s total matches since July last year, when a dive on the boundary in Galle led to a ligament injury in his right knee. And yet, it is unarguable that in that time, his stature within Pakistan has grown immeasurably, to the degree that he shares equal billing with Babar Azam as the team’s biggest star. The kerfuffle over the rehabilitation of his injury, in particular his hurried departure — at his own expense — from the UAE to the UK to begin rehab; the comeback and heartbreak of another injury to the same knee at a World Cup final; a high-profile wedding; leading Lahore Qalandars to a second successive PSL title; and constant and inevitable rumours around a leadership tilt with Pakistan. He was always a superstar, but with this very 90s-Pakistan-superstar trajectory, he’s blown up into the stratosphere. The perfect time, then, to land up in England for a stint in the T20 Blast with Nottinghamshire.
The knee is “back to 100% now,” he said, even if there were murmurings during Pakistan’s home season around a slight dip in his pace post return. He’s dismissive of that, pointing to a decent haul of wickets since: 19 in the PSL, six in five T20Is against New Zealand, eight in four ODIs against the same team. “Everyone has a view about it (the pace), but I’ve been feeling good. You look at yourself, even if you are bowling 110kmph and taking wickets, you’re feeling good. I took wickets. I gave 100% in the field, that matters more. Speed doesn’t matter as much but if there has been a dip, it will improve with time.
“I was injured two months out before the T20 World Cup, two-three months after the T20 World Cup also. So it will of course take time to get back. That match energy or fitness, you only get it from playing matches. Since the PSL I’ve been feeling better, I got better through it and then played internationals for Pakistan as well. With time I’ll improve and the more I play the more I’ll improve.”
The moment of the recurrence of that knee injury — which subsequently ruled him out of a big home Test season – will remain one of the great what-ifs of his career. With Pakistan battling hard to defend 138 at the MCG in the T20 World Cup final, Afridi took an athletic catch at long-off in the 13th over to dismiss Harry Brook, but jammed his knee in the process. He went off briefly, returned to roars, ran in to bowl the 16th with England still needing a tricky 41 off 30 and pulled up after one ball. England were wobbling, the surface wasn’t easy and Afridi had grown his way into the tournament. Instead, he went off, Ben Stokes hit a four and six off Iftikhar Ahmed, on to complete the over, and it was over.
The year before, Pakistan were looking strong defending in the semi-final against Australia before a Matthew Wade blitz off Afridi — with a dropped catch to boot — turned the game. “Obviously, it’s every player’s dream to win a World Cup for his country and I still remember 2021, how that ended,” he said. “And in this tournament 2022, if I didn’t get injured at such a crucial moment, maybe we could’ve won. Maybe if I had stayed fit and bowled…” he trails off. “Injuries can happen at any time.” How much does he still think about those two games? “If I think too much about them then I won’t be able to move ahead.” “Me and Lala were practising shots, about how to hit in the final overs, working on my bat swing a little. Nobody has the kind of experience he has in T20s, and working with him was really good.”
His memories of the last two PSLs are much happier. Lahore Qalandars could not have fallen lower by the time he took over as captain, but two titles in successive years has been a genuinely remarkable turnaround. He’s visibly grown into the role, slipping from a slightly nervous presence in need of advice to a commandeering leader, supremely confident in his own decisions. His performances have not really been impacted; if anything, captaincy has brought out something else in him, amply evident in his all-round impact in this year’s final. “Captaincy is totally different to bowling,” he said. “You have to keep the entire team on the same page with that. With bowling, you only think about what you are doing with the ball, how to bowl to the captain’s plans. With captaincy, you’re thinking about your bowling but also about every member of the team, what mood they’re in, how they’re feeling. That is a totally different job. But I’ve enjoyed it lots.”