Afridi in minor injury scare
Pakistan have had an injury scare involving their captain Shahid Afridi on the second day of the tour game against Kent. Afridi, clutching his back on the way to the dressing room at lunch, has what he said is a side strain and will visit a clinic tomorrow morning to ascertain the full extent of the injury.
"I just had a minor side strain," Afridi confirmed to Cricinfo, adding that there was no cause for serious concern. Earlier in the morning he had appeared comfortable during fielding drills and played touch football with his team-mates. However, Afridi did not return after lunch and only took the field towards the end of the Kent innings for a couple of overs. He hasn't had much of an impact on the tour game, batting only six balls for a duck in the first innings.
In the absence of any senior and experienced batsmen, Shoaib Malik apart, Pakistan need Afridi in healthy form in order to pose a challenge in the upcoming Test series against Australia and England.
Afridi, who has scored 1683 runs in 26 Tests, played his last Test during Pakistan's tour of England in 2006 but failed to impress in two Tests at Manchester and Lord's. He had announced a surprise temporary retirement from Tests in early 2006, saying he wanted to concentrate on the game's shorter formats, but changed his mind less than a fortnight later after the then PCB chairman, Shaharyar Khan, and coach Bob Woolmer persuaded him to reverse his decision.
Afridi was recently appointed Pakistan's captain in all three formats following Pakistan's winless tour to Australia in 2009-10.
Pakistan in England 2010: Shahid Afridi in minor injury scare | Cricket News | Pakistan v Australia 2010 | Cricinfo.com