[WATCH] Shaheen Afridi turns spectator, supports Babar Azam-led Pakistan from the stands

Ace Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi, who is undergoing rehab after sustaining a knee injury in the T20 World Cup final, turned up as a spectator on Day 1 of the opening Test between Pakistan and England in Rawalpindi on Thursday (December 1).

Pakistan Cricket’s official Twitter handle shared a video in which Afridi could be seen shaking hands with Babar Azam and Co. to wish them luck as they took the field after England elected to bat. It captioned the post:

“Here to support the boys, @iShaheenAfridi is in the house.”

In another post, Afridi could be seen posing with Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan.

The Pakistan team felt the left-arm seamer's absence on the field as England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett smashed centuries and shared an opening partnership of 233 runs. While Crawley scored 122 off 111 balls, Duckett slammed 107 runs. Meanwhile, Ollie Pope also smashed a century to guide England to 440/3 after 67.4 overs.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan will need to win four of their five upcoming Tests if they wish to reach the World Test Championship (WTC) final. They are currently fifth in the points table, while England have already crashed out of the title race following series defeats in the Ashes and West Indies.

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“Shaheen Afridi’s absence will hurt Pakistan’s bowling attack” – Haris Rauf

Pakistan pace spearhead Haris Rauf, who dismissed centurion Zak Crawley on his Test debut, feels Shaheen Afridi’s absence will be felt throughout the Test series. So, other bowlers need to step up.

Speaking to the media, he said:

“Shaheen Afridi’s absence will hurt Pakistan’s bowling attack. However, the rest of the bowlers are also confident ahead of the series.”

For the uninitiated, Afridi faced a knee issue when he took a catch against England in the T20 World Cup summit clash. A scan revealed that he didn’t injure his knee, but the pain was due to forced knee flexion. The 22-year-old has been advised to undergo two weeks of rehabilitation. He could be considered for the remaining two Tests in Multan (December 9-13) and Karachi (December 17-21).

Pakistan XI vs England: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Ali, Zahid Mahmood.