Shahid Afridi leaves LPL midway due to a ‘personal emergency’

Shahid Afridi, who joined the Galle Gladiators squad after he missed his flight, has left the Lanka Premier League (LPL) midway due to a “personal emergency”.

In a tweet, the cricketer who his captaining his team Galle Gladiators, said that he has “a personal emergency to attend to back home”. He added that he will rejoin the team “immediately after the situation is handled”.

Unfortunately I have a personal emergency to attend to back home. I will return to join back my team at LPL immediately after the situation is handled. All the best.

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) December 2, 2020

The team management has said that owing to the quarantine rules, Afridi is unlikely to return. In his absence, Bhanuka Rajapaksa will lead the team, while Afridi’s replacement has not yet been decided.

Gladiators, who have lost all three of their matches will be playing tonight (Thursday) against the unbeaten Jaffna Stallions.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan media have revealed that Afridi is going back to Karachi to tend to his nine-month-old daughter who is reportedly unwell and has been admitted to the hospital. They also said that Lala joined the squad late because of his daughter’s illness.

“The same daughter is not well again and he will be leaving the hotel in Hambantota at around 7 pm for Colombo, where he will catch a flight for Karachi at 1 am,” a team source told the media.

Former Cricketer Umar Gul also commented on Afridi’s tweet to inquire if all is well.

I hope all is well.🤲

— Umar Gul (@mdk_gul) December 2, 2020