Alan Wilkins takes a dig at Shoaib Akhtar
Akhtar had said that Shaheen Afridi should've bowled his remaining overs against England in the T20 World Cup
The cricketer-turned-commentator Alan Wilkins took a dig at ex-Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar over the latte's remarks on speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Shaheen had to walk off the field due to knee discomfort during the T20 World Cup 2022 final clash against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in November.
Shaheen took a brilliant catch of Harry Brook to send the middle-order batter back to the pavilion but he fell on his right knee and aggravated his knee injury.
Coming in to bowl the 16th over, Shaheen bowled the first delivery in severe pain and couldn't carry on further. He walked off the field while shedding tears and was replaced by Khushdil Shah.
However, Akhtar has said that Shaheen shouldn't have left the field and should've bowled his remaining overs.
"If I was in his [Shaheen Afridi] place, I would have become the greatest celebrity of Pakistan during those 12 minutes by bowling the same number of deliveries. I would've come to bowl, fall, break my knees, but I would've got up, used injection to numb my knees, and repeated the same again," Akhtar said in an interview with a local TV channel.
"People would've told me that I would die, but I would rather die than let the World Cup slip away from our hands. This was the moment that you could've become a superstar. If I was there, I would've died for Pakistan," he added.
However, Wilkins opposed Akhtar's remarks in a tweet on Tuesday (today).
"It’s an admirable thought but it is also a long time after the event. Shaheen Shah Afridi couldn’t have bowled on one leg even though he’s got the biggest heart in the team!" he said.
It is worth mentioning here that by opting to field first, England restricted Pakistan to a modest 137 runs before chasing down the target in 19 overs to become the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
Sam Curran and Adil Rashid starred with the ball, while Ben Stokes scored a half-century to lead the Poms to victory and lift the trophy.
Since that injury, Shaheen missed Pakistan's entire home season and only made his return to cricket in the opening match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on February 13. He is leading defending champions Lahore Qalandars during PSL 8.
