Had Shaheen not been injured, T20 World Cup final would have been more interesting: Sachin

KARACHI: India batting great Sachin Tendulkar has said that the T20 World Cup 2022 final between England and Pakistan would have been more interesting if Shaheen Afridi didn't get injured.

Shaheen took a crucial catch of Harry Brook to send the middle-order batter back to the pavilion, but he fell on his right knee.

Coming in to bowl the 16th over, Shaheen bowled the first delivery in severe pain and couldn't carry on further. The knee discomfort forced the left-armer to walk off the field.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that the "medical panel is treating him and will provide any further update in due course".

Meanwhile, the former India opener wanted Shaheen to bowl his remaining two overs to make the high-octane clash more thrilling.

"Congratulations England on winning your 2nd T20 World Cup. Fantastic achievement. It was a closely fought final and would've been even more interesting had Afridi not been injured," Sachin wrote on Twitter.

After Shaheen left, Iftikhar Ahmed was given the ball by the Pakistan skipper Babar Azam but the spinner turned out to be expensive as he gave away 13 runs.

Pakistan were handed a five-wicket loss by the Poms in the final, thanks to a brilliant bowling performance from Sam Curran and Adil Rashid and a crucial half-century from all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Opting to field first, England restricted Pakistan to a meagre 137 runs before chasing down the target in 19 overs to become the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

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