Afridi injured in practice match
The Pakistan cricket team suffered an injury scare ahead of the Asia Cup when their flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi hurt his jaw during a practice match at Gaddafi stadium.
“Although the injury is not a serious one, doctors have advised him to speak a little less than usual for two days because the impact was on the jaw,” national coach Moin Khan told reporters. Afridi was hit near the jaw when trying to paddle-sweep paceman Junaid Khan. The ball flew off the edge of the bat and hit his helmet's visor which struck the jaw. Afridi was seen walking around with a big bruise on the right side of his face. The former captain is expected to be a key player in Pakistan's campaign in the Asia Cup, to be held from 25 February, and the World Twenty20 Championship, from 16 March, in Bangladesh.
The outspoken player told reporters a day earlier that Pakistan stood a very strong chance of winning the two major events. “I am looking forward to these events as we have very good sides and I am keen to play a major role in them,” Afridi said. Also, Sri Lanka's veteran batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan is in doubt for the Asia Cup after picking up a finger injury which has ruled him out of the rest of the current series against Bangladesh.
“He would return home today,” Sri Lanka Cricket announced. He may miss the Asia Cup tournament as selectors would not want to risk playing him in his current state ahead of the World Twenty20 championship.
Left-handed middle-order batsman Lahiru Thirimanna would replace Dilshan for the Bangladesh tour. Dilshan hurt his finger in the second One-Day International which Sri Lanka won yesterday to clinch the series. Dilshan was among the leading Sri Lankan players who went unsold at the Indian Premier League auction last week.
In another development, newly appointed Pakistan cricket coach Moin Khan today urged his players to shrug off "the fear of failure" as they prepared to defend the Asia Cup.
Pakistan began a four-day training camp ahead of the competition. Khan, who replaced Australian Dav Whatmore under whom Pakistan won the Asia Cup in 2012, said the team were gearing up for the title defence. "I hope we will give a good result and defend our title which we won with the same captain, Misbah-ul-Haq," he told reporters after the first day of the camp.
Pakistan face Sri Lanka on the opening day of the tournament, which also includes India and Afghanistan. "I think it's important to take out the fear of failure, which I saw previously in the team," said Khan. He was manager of the team on the last tour to the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the one-day series 3-2 and squared the three-match Test series 1-1. "It (being manager) was a different role but I have benefited from it as I have seen the technical problems of the players, got to know their psyche as well," said Khan. He has been appointed as coach for the Asia Cup and the World Twenty20. "I am confident that if my performance is good I will get an extension," said Khan, under whose captaincy Pakistan won their first Asia Cup title in 2000. India have won the title five times while Sri Lanka won it on four occasions out of eleven events. Khan, who played 69 Tests and 219 one-dayers for Pakistan, praised Whatmore. "Whatmore did very well, although we lost some Test series, but we produced good results in one-day matches and T20 internationals," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment