Published: Mar 13, 2014, 11:59 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 13, 2014, 05:06 PM (IST)
Johannesburg: Mar 13, 2014
Pakistan Twenty20 (T20) captain Mohammad Hafeez has said that he hopes all-rounder Shahid Afridi will be fit in time for the ICC World Twenty20 2014 after he delayed his departure to Bangladesh.
Afridi played in the Asia Cup final on Saturday with painkillers after he hurt his hamstring with some powerful late hitting during two nail-biting victories against India and Bangladesh last week.
According to Sport24, Hafeez said that they have given Afridi time to rehabilitate as he needs a fit all-rounder for the tournament, adding that fitness is one of the key issues with the team because it has been playing international cricket nonstop for five months.
The fitness of Afridi, who will miss the warm-up match against New Zealand, could reportedly be tested in the second warm-up game against South Africa next Wednesday before their first group match against India two days later.
Afridi is the most capped Twenty20 international player with 70 matches, bagging 73 wickets with his leg spin bowling and scoring 1,044 runs at an impressive strike rate of 143.01.
Pakistan is one of the most successful teams in the World T20 after winning the title in 2009 in England, reaching one other final, and two semi-finals, the report added.
