Shahid Afridi calls time on Pakistan Super League career citing persistent back pain

Lahore: Flamboyant former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has called time on his Pakistan Super League (PSL) career due to a persistent back problem, ending a seven-year association with the event. [caption id=“attachment_9651751” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] File image Shahid Afridi. Image credit: Twitter/@MultanSultans[/caption] The 41-year-old cricketer said that he took part in this season’s PSL only for the sake of fans. “I was trying to sign off on a good note; my lower-back injury has been there for 15-16 years, and I have been playing with it. But now it has become so much that it has affected my groin, my knee and it goes down to extreme pain in my toes,” Afridi said in a social media message. Afridi, who began his career in international cricket with a then fastest 37-ball hundred, looked in pain at times but took three wickets in three PSL games for Quetta Gladiators. “I tried to cope with it but can’t tolerate the pain anymore. After all, when you have good health, you have the world with you. I will go back and undergo rehabilitation on my fitness. There is cricket coming up… So I will soon return in front of my fans again,” he added. Quetta is Afridi’s fourth PSL franchise. He has also played for Multan Sultans, Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. Afridi took 47 wickets at an average of 26.51 in his PSL career, besides scoring 459 runs at a strike rate of 150.8.