Soon after Shahid Afridi had reached his half-century against Bangladesh on Tuesday,
Pakistan's physio had run out to the field to attend to him. Struggling
to move after that, Afridi was run out. Three days later, he was still
walking gingerly when Pakistan trained on the eve of the Asia Cup final
against Sri Lanka.
"Shahid Afridi has a grade one hip flexor strain," their manager Zakir
Khan said. "Our physio is working on him. He's been given rest and
treatment.
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"Hopefully tomorrow, before the start of the match we will know the
complete situation about Afridi. He has responded well to the treatment.
We are all analysing and assessing his situation. Tomorrow we will take
the final decision about Afridi."
Afridi isn't the only Pakistan player with a fitness issue.
"We have little bit of niggles and strains to Ahmed Shehzad who was
struggling with his shoulder," Zakir said. "He's also responding well to
treatment. He's coming up well. Umar Gul was little bit stiff but he's
also coming out of it."
Zakir added that Sharjeel Khan, who had missed the Bangladesh game with a
knee injury, was "nearly 98% fit. He batted and fielded at the nets and
looked good today."
From these comments, it seemed as if Sharjeel and Gul would probably be
fully fit in time to play the final. Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan's captain,
didn't provide too many clues to the likelihood of Afridi and Shehzad
making it.
"Obviously your main players make a difference to the side," Misbah
said. "We are, however, mentally strong. You may have seen [Fawad] Alam
played really well in absence of Sharjeel Khan. The confidence level is
very high. All the members of the team have been performing well. There
is a will to win. We hope to get them in the side but at the same time
we're confident that even if they don't play, we have the boys in the
bench who are capable and confident to win the game for us."
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