Afridi to return to Pakistan from the BBL after picking up knee injury
"Due to an unexpected injury, I have been called back by the PCB and will have to take a rehab," Shaheen Shah Afridi writes on his social media handle
ESPNcricinfo staff
30-Dec-2025 • 6 hrs ago
Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up two wickets in his four BBL appearances • Getty Images
A knee injury has ended Shaheen Shah Afridi's stint with Brisbane Heat in the BBL. The PCB has called him back from Australia to start his rehabilitation, with an eye on the T20 World Cup in February-March in India and Sri Lanka.
A statement from Heat said Afridi "will be further reviewed upon the team's return from Adelaide", where they will play their next game, on Wednesday, against Adelaide Strikers, suggesting that Afridi might return to Pakistan after that process.
"I'm massively thankful to the Brisbane Heat team and fans for showering me with immense love and support," Afridi wrote on his social media handle. "Due to an unexpected injury, I have been called back by the PCB and will have to take a rehab. Hopefully, I will be back in the field soon. Meanwhile, I will be cheering for the amazing team."
Heat are also waiting on Tom Alsop (knee injury) and Nathan McSweeney (ankle injury), who have both resumed training.
In what was his first season in the BBL, Afridi was part of a strong contingent of Pakistani cricketers, including the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Haris Rauf. But he could play just four games and didn't have a particularly memorable time of it: just two wickets and an economy rate of 11.19.
That aside, in what was his first match for Heat, Afridi was removed from the Heat attack for what was deemed dangerous bowling, after he sent down two waist-high full-tosses, to Tim Seifert and Oliver Peake, in the 18th over of Melbourne Renegades' innings.
Afridi appeared to have picked up the injury while bowling in the 14th over of Adelaide Strikers' chase of Heat's 179 for 9 on December 27 when he limped off pointing to his right knee.
"Despite his season not finishing the way he would have liked, he has been a thorough professional and we have been pleased to welcome him to Brisbane and the Heat,'' Brisbane Heat CEO Terry Svenson said.
"I know our young bowlers in the squad have benefitted greatly from his advice and suggestions, and he has had strong input into the team's performances overall."
Afridi, who was appointed Pakistan captain earlier this year, has had a history of trouble with the right knee over the years. In 2022, he sustained an injury while fielding during a Test match in Sri Lanka, later diagnosed as a posterior cruciate ligament injury to the same knee, which saw him ruled out of the early stages of the T20 World Cup. Despite a somewhat botched rehab, he was back for the later stages of Pakistan's campaign, but picked up another injury at a crucial juncture in the final and could not bowl at the death, and momentum slipped away from Pakistan as England won the title.
With the next T20 World Cup just five weeks away, the PCB appear to have decided to call him back out of an abundance of caution. Afridi remains one of Pakistan's spearheads in the format, working his way back into form at the Asia Cup before topping the wickettaking charts at the home tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. The World Cup is immediately followed by the PSL, where Afridi captains the Lahore Qalandars; he led his side to the title last year, and was his side's best bowler at the knockout stages.