Babar Azam was seen helping Shaheen Afridi out with a thumb injury in the recent third ODI between Australia and Pakistan. This match is being played in Perth on November 10, 2024.
Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and chose to bowl first. For the first time in ODIs, Josh Inglis captained Australia, which featured a few new faces as the main players were rested.
Pakistani pacers Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Mohammad Hasnain took full advantage of the pace and bounce offered by the Perth wicket and rattled the Australian batting.
Shaheen and Naseem picked three wickets each, while Rauf took one and Hasnain snared one wicket as Australia was bundled out for 140 runs. Sean Abbott with 30 and Matthew Short with 22 were the only ones to cross the 20-run mark, while Coope Connelly retired hurt.
During Australia's innings, in the 26th over, Sean Abbott smashed a Shaheen ball to deep midwicket. As the fielder threw a powerful, flat throw on the bounce, Shaheen attempted to catch the ball at the non-striker's end, but it grazed his left thumb.
Shaheen appeared to be in pain as he shook his hand shortly after being hit. Babar then stepped in, pulling the bowler's thumb to relieve the pain.
The commentators feared dislocation, but Babar applied pressure to Shaheen's thumb until the physio arrived. The physio then ruled out dislocation and applied the magic spray to assist Shaheen Afridi.
After receiving the treatment, Shaheen, although in discomfort, resumed bowling much to the delight of the Pakistan fans.
Here is the video:
