On a day when their bowlers struggled in a T20I defeat to New Zealand, Pakistan received the good news of speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi being declared fit to join the team for their warm-up games against England and Pakistan head of the T20 World Cup.

Shaheen, 22, has been sidelined since sustaining a ligament injury to his right knee during a Test match in Sri Lanka in July, missing the Asia Cup and home series against England.

“Shaheen is now available for selection for the October 17 and 19 warm-up matches against England and Afghanistan, respectively, during which his match fitness will be assessed by the team management,” the PCB said.

Pakistan take on India on October 23. Shaheen’s ability to bowl at high speed and extract bounce makes him a key weapon in Pakistan’s set-up.

“I am super excited... it has been a difficult period for me tobe miles away from the game and the team I love the most,” said Shaheen. “I have been bowling six to eight overs trouble-free for the past 10 days with full run-up and pace.”

Reserve batsman FakharZaman, who has been out with a knee injury, will also travel to Brisbane with Shaheen.

Openers do it for NZ

In Tuesday’s match in Christchurch, Pakistan were undone by a 117-run opening partnership from Finn Allen and Devon Conway, whichgave New Zealand a nine-wicket win in the T20I tri-series. Allen made 62 off 42 balls while Conway remained not out on 49 off 46 balls as New Zealand easily surpassed Pakistan’s 130/7 in 16.1 overs.

Written with inputs from Reuters