Daily Times

As he makes his return to red-ball cricket after nearly a year away, Pakistan’s top pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi is one wicket away from reaching a century of wickets in Test matches.

Tuesday’s two-day warm-up match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota, marked almost a year since Shaheen last played for his nation after suffering a knee injury in the first of the two Tests there last year.

Similar to previous events, the proceedings got off to a fast start with deadly swings and accurate lengths from the ball. Before tea, Pakistan bowled out the opposition for 196 after picking up three wickets for 36 runs in 12 overs, three of which were maidens.

He scored 4-2-2-1 on the final day as the hosts could only muster 88 for four after Pakistan put 342 in thanks to half-centuries from Shan Masood, Babar Azam, and Saud Shakeel.

“I am very excited to be making my Test comeback in the country where I was injured,” Shaheen told PCB Digital in Hambantota.

“Injuries are part of an athlete’s life, but it is good to be back. I enjoy red-ball cricket a lot and I am one wicket away from a century of Test wickets, which would be a big achievement for me.”

He hadn’t played a first-class match since the fourth morning of the first Test at Galle, when he fell awkwardly at the boundary while attempting to stop the ball, necessitating a gradual and systematic return due to the nature of the injury.

In Australia’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in October of last year, he made his comeback to the international stage, but in the final, he twisted his knee and was forced to miss the home series against England (Tests) and New Zealand (Tests and ODIs).

In order to help Lahore Qalandars win the Pakistan Super League title and defend their title, he returned earlier this year. He then participated in the 10-match limited-overs series against New Zealand in April.

Shaheen was playing for Nottinghamshire when he was selected for the Test team for these two matches, which are Pakistan’s first in the third cycle of the ICC World Test Championship. There, he made sure to meet the necessary workload requirements to settle in.

“It takes time to get used to red-ball cricket after playing white-ball,” he said, adding: “But the Karachi camp proved beneficial for me. Test cricket demands patience and you have to work in partnerships with fellow bowlers. Over the last year, I have played more white-ball matches, but when I was playing in the United Kingdom, I bowled extra overs after matches — even with the red ball — to meet the desired workload.

“It seems like yesterday when I was injured. I will be making my Test return at the same ground where I was injured. I was talking to our physiotherapist about it.

“It is a matter of pride to represent Pakistan in any format and I enjoy playing for Pakistan. I hope we will have a good beginning to this cycle of the World Test Championship and we will qualify for the final, something we have missed in the last two iterations,” the pacer said.

Shaheen is about to achieve the feat of becoming the 11th pacer from Pakistan to have taken 100 Test wickets. But what makes his return more exciting is the milestone in line.

The seamer said there was a lot of excitement for the 100th wicket too, but it has been a long wait for the pacer.

“I was only one wicket away and the new ball was about to be available,” he said while recalling the first Test against Galle 12 months ago.

“I was planning to utilize the new ball to reach that milestone, but I got injured before we got the new ball. So, I have had to wait a lot. It is very tough to be away from cricket, but time has helped me learn a lot, which will help me perform well for Pakistan across formats.”

His 99 wickets have come in only 25 matches at an average of 24.86. He also has four five-wicket hauls and one 10-for in the match. Shaheen, however, has added another dimension to his game by strengthening his batting during rehabilitation.

His smoking 44 not out off just 15 balls set up Lahore Qalandars’ thrilling win over Multan Sultans in the PSL 8 final and he let his slogging abilities known in the international arena when he smashed New Zealand’s Blair Tickner for 22 (three sixes and a four) in the last over of the fourth One-Day International in Karachi to lift Pakistan to 334.

“I am a bowler first,” he laughed. “But, whenever I will get a chance to make an impact with the bat for my country, I would do so.”