Shaheen Afridi fit to play against India in T20 World Cup 2022: Ramiz Raja

In the major boost for Pakistani team, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has confirmed that star pacer Shaheen Afridi is fit and will play the opening T20 World Cup 2022 clash against India. Pakistan will kick-start their World Cup campaign with a clash against traditional rivals India on October 23 at famous Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The 22-year-old left-arm pacer suffered a right knee ligament injury during the Test match against Sri Lanka in July. He missed the 2022 Asia Cup clash and the seven-match T20I series against England at home but was included in Pakistan's squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022. There were doubts over his availability for the opening clash against India but Ramiz Raja has now revealed that he spoke to the player and he is ready to make his comeback.

"I spoke to Shaheen Afridi two days ago. He is making great progress and the doctors sent me his videos. He is at 90 % now and they think that he will be battle-ready (for the world cup). Knee injuries are technical and sensitive, so our opinion was until that he isn't 110 %, so we won't risk him. But when I spoke to him, he said he is already at 110%. He told me that he will go (to Australia) to play the practice matches and be ready for India," Ramiz Raja said while talking to Dawn.

Shaheen took three big wickets of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli in their 10-wicket win over India in the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2021. His return to starting eleven will further solidify the pace attack which has been very impressive with the likes of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf lately.

Fakhar Zaman in also recovering: Ramiz Raja

Ramiz also provided positive update on star batter Fakhar Zaman's recovery from the injury. He stated that the player is recovering well and can be a part of the team if regains his match fitness.

"Fakhar Zaman in also recovering and I believe if he regains his fitness, he will provide a lot of value. This call is upto the team and depends on how they view the combination. Besides that, Usman Qadir has a hairline fracture on his finger, so we have to look at our options as well," he added.

After a disappointing loss in the Asia Cup 2022 final and a 3-4 series defeat against England at home, Pakistan are engaged in a T20I Tri-Series in New Zealand with Bangladesh being the other team.