Monitoring Desk
KARACHI: Multan Sultans allrounder Shahid Afridi will not play any part in the remainder of the Pakistan Super League after being sidelined with a lower-back injury. Sultans announced he felt pain in his lower back while training for the resumption of the league, with the doctor advising complete rest.
Afridi will be replaced by left arm spinner Asif Afridi, who hails from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With Afridi’s absence, Multan Sultans lose out on one of the competition’s most experienced players. Afridi has participated in 50 PSL matches throughout his career, with Mohammad Nawaz the only spinner to have taken more wickets than his 44. He has also scored 465 runs at a strike rate in excess of 150 in a career that has also seen him play for Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings.
Multan Sultans have plenty of ground to make up when the league resumes, having struggled to race out of the blocks when the league initially launched in February. They have won just one of the five matches they played, and currently sit outside the top four, ahead of only Quetta Gladiators.
Islamabad United have also included batsman Umar Amin and West Indian opener Brandon King, while Afghanistan’s Hazratullah Zazai pairs up with Peshawar Zalmi. The league is set to resume on June 5, with the final due to take place on June 20.
