Will Shaheen Afridi be effective after attaining full fitness?

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Former PCB Medical Panel Chief Dr. Sohail Saleem is not pleased with the rehabilitation procedure of fast bowler Shaheen Afridi.

In an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Sohail was unsure whether the 22-year-old would bowl at the same pace after attaining full fitness.

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The 22-year-old is in UK for the rehabilitation of his knee injury, which he sustained during the Green Shirts’ first Test against Sri Lanka, and has now started bowling.

"I cannot say with assurance if Shaheen will be effective and come back with the same intensity," Sohail said.

"The young pacer is very brave and strong-willed. Not much is known about the nature of his treatment, but he has been able to come back from the elbow injury in an imposing manner in the past, and it will be the same this time as well," he added.

 

Meanwhile, Sohail thinks Physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon's advice may not have been given much importance in Shaheen's case.

"I have worked with Cliffe a lot; he was a left-arm fast bowler in first-class cricket, he knows about fast bowlers' workload. He would tell management and administration about the load of a player. The thing which isn't evident in Shaheen's case is what was cliff's advice," he added.

On the other hand, Sohail stressed that the situation regarding the rehab facilities is not as bad as it is shown.

"There is not so much of a bad situation. Players from a foreign team have come to me, athletes of different sports have come to us and there is no such thing that we don't have the best of rehab facilities," he maintained.

Sohail further added that there is no problem sending cricketers abroad for rehab, but PCB must take advice from designated people before making decisions.

"PCB is in the stage of infancy when it comes to rehabilitation. There were limited resources during our time, but when it comes to rehab, I can name many cricketers, but I don't want to as it is our responsibility to help them recover."

"If PCB is having a problem, so send players but there must be a process if there are failures, take advise from designated people," he added.

Sohail concluded that fast bowlers face injuries in their career, so they need to educate themselves about avoiding injuries. Full implementation of the training plan, balanced diet and adequate sleep are also very important. Athletes must report even the smallest injuries, as these minor injuries can grow into problems later on.