The left-arm seamer departed the final at the start of 16th over of England's chase in the MCG final with what appeared to be a recurrence of a knee problem that kept him out for the two months prior to the tournament
Shaheen Shah Afridi's knee injury compounded a miserable T20 World Cup final for Pakistan who will now be sweating over the fitness of the left-arm quick for next month's Test series against England.
Afridi limped off the field midway through the 13th over after taking the catch to dismiss Harry Brook during the successful chase of 138.
The 22-year-old was immediately flat out on the outfield after appearing to buckle under his troublesome right knee while completing the catch.
Pakistan physio Cliffe Deacon quickly attended to Afridi, who appeared in agony while receiving treatment.
He had to be helped from the field but returned for the 15th over moving gingerly.
Shaheen had earlier dismissed Alex Hales to give Pakistan a flicker of hope (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Thrown the ball for his third over he was only able to complete one delivery - a dot ball nonetheless - before returning to the dugout.
Captain Babar Azam, facing a dilemma over his sixth bowler, was forced to deploy Iftikhar Ahmed's off-spin for the remaining five deliveries in what was a turning point in the contest.
Needing 41 from 29 deliveries when Shaheen departed, match-winner Ben Stokes lashed a four and a six from the final two deliveries before Moeen Ali made it four in a row by finding the rope twice at the start of the 17th bowled by Mohammad Wasim.
It was a critical passage of play in England clinching a five-wicket victory with six balls to spare, as they added the T20 World Cup to their 50-over crown.
"Our bowling is one of the best but unfortunately Shaheen's injury cost us a different result, but that's part of the game," Babar said during the post-match presentation.
(ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
Speaking at the post-match press conference, he added: "The way our fast bowlers bowled in the first six overs, I thought maybe in the middle overs we made a comeback. But after the Shaheen injury, the match shifted to the England side. But I am very happy with the way our team performed."
Attention will quickly turn to Shaheen's availability for the Test series against England starting in Rawalpindi on December 1.
He was sidelined for the two months before the tournament, missing the second Test against Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup and the England T20I series with damage to his right knee, the same joint that he went over on in Melbourne.
Pakistan are yet to name their squad for the three-Test series, which moves to Multan and Karachi for the second and third Tests (starting December 9 and December 17).
Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah will likely lead the seam attack if Shaheen is absent, with spin in the form of Yasir Shah and Mohammad Nawaz representing the main threat.
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