February 14, 2022
Shahid Afridi disappointed cricket enthusiasts by withdrawing from the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) seventh edition, after leading the team to a remarkable victory in his last match for the Quetta Gladiators against Islamabad United.
The news received mixed reactions from fellow cricketers, fans, and sports analysts. Some of them recalled Afridi’s phenomenal cricket journey and some wished him a speedy recovery.
“The first time I saw @SAfridiOfficial was in the nets in 1996 and he impressed us, apart from his bowling, with his batting,” Pakistan cricket great Wasim Akram wrote on Instagram.
Read more: Shoaib Akhtar responds to Shahid Afridi's withdrawal from PSL
Sharing a picture of the two, the former cricketer recalled that Afridi smashed the then fastest hundred and became a big star.
“[He] had won Pakistan so many matches and is hugely popular,” Akram wrote, wishing Afridi the best in life.
Quetta Gladiators suffered on Sunday a huge blow when veteran all-rounder Afridi announced to withdraw from the league midway.
In a video message released, the Pakistani sixer king said that his body isn’t allowing him to continue playing.
“An old injury has made it difficult and the pain it is causing has become unbearable that I can’t endure it anymore,” Afridi said.