Shaheen Afridi opens up on injury woes, says ‘wanted to give up but my bowling video clips kept me going’

“There were times when I wanted to give up…I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving,” said Pakan’s star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi as he spoke about the injury he sustained during a match against England back in 2022.
“Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself this is enough, I cannot do this anymore. 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,” he told PCB Digital.
Watch video:
The lanky pacer had to miss out on one of the most crucial series for his side as Pakan hosted England after a decade for seven T20Is and three Tests. Adding more to his miseries, Shaheen could also not participate in the ODI and Test Series against the Kiwis.
Expressing disappointment over the same, he revealed, “It is tough when you miss your home games because of the injury,” he says. “Before our Test home season, I even missed the seven England T20Is. I was more dressed about missing the Tests, because I like Test cricket more.”
“A bowler is measured on how he performs in Test cricket and I wanted to take wickets against England,” he added.
The 22-year-old had left the field during the final on November 13, 2022 after landing awkwardly while taking Harry Brook’s catch. Shaheen returned to bowl the 16th over but the unbearable pain forced him to leave after the first delivery.

The injury, while not serious, had caused knee discomfort to the bowler due to a forced knee flexion while landing.
Before the T20 World Cup in October-November last year, Afridi had undergone rehabilitation in London for a knee injury he had sustained while fielding during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July.