My pace is same as pre-injury, Shaheen Afridi says

PERTH: Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has said that it is never easy to make a comeback following an injury which has kept a player out of action for three months.

Talking to journalists on Sunday at ICC mixed zone following Pakistan’s 6-wicket win over the Netherlands, Shaheen said that his pace is the same as what it used to be before the injury.

Afridi missed the Asia Cup and Pakistan’s tour of Netherlands’ earlier due to injury but made a comeback for the world cup after completing his rehabilitation in the UK.

“It is never easy for anyone to make a comeback after such an injury. I pray that it doesn’t happen to anyone else; only the person who underwent the same injury can understand what I went through,” Shaheen said.

“I am trying to give my best in each game, your match fitness is different than routine physical fitness, and I am quickly regaining that too,” he said.

Shaheen revealed that staying away from the team due to injury and spending time in the UK during the rehab process was the most difficult time for him.

“Initially, I wasn’t even allowed to walk, it was a stressful time, but my teammates kept boosting my confidence,” he said.

“Two weeks before coming to Australia for World Cup, I started bowling in indoor nets in the UK, and I opted to practice on a hard surface there as I knew that surface here would be hard too,” Shaheen said.