Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi is a Pakistani cricketer who is regarded as one of the tallest bowlers in Pakistani cricket history. Also, he is regarded as one of the very few players to have the ability to bowl at a speed of 90 mph with consistency.

Shaheen Afridi Biography

Shaheen Afridi was born on 6 April 2000 at Landi Kotal at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-hand fast bowler. His primary role in the team is that of a bowler, but he is an aspiring all-rounder.

Shaheen Afridi - Along the Years

Shaheen Afridi Records

Shaheen Afridi holds the record for being the youngest player to take a 5-wicket haul in a World Cup at the age of 19. He achieved this in the 2019 ICC World Cup against Bangladesh cricket team with figures of 6/35. Also, he has the best bowling figures of 8/39 by a Pakistani bowler in his First-Class debut.

• Leading wicket-taker by a teenager in a single edition of the 50-over World Cup- 16 wickets in 2019.

• Best figures in a WC game by a Pakistani pacer- 6/35 vs Bangladesh in 2019.

• 3rd youngest pacer to take a 10-for in a Test match. He claimed the milestone against the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica in 2021.

• One of the 11 bowlers to take consecutive 5-fors in ODI history.

Shaheen Afridi Awards and Accolades

In 2019, Shaheen Afridi was declared as the rising star of the World Cup squad of Pakistan cricket team at the end of the 2019 ICC World Cup by the International Cricket Council.

• Sir Garfield Sobers' Award for being adjudged the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2021.

• Adjudged 'Player of the Match' in Pakistan's historic T20 World Cup win over India in 2021 for his spell of 3/31.

• Named in ICC's Test and T20I XI of the Year 2021.

• Won PCB's 'Impactful Performance of the Year' award for his match-winning spell against India at the T20 World Cup 2021.

• Captained Lahore Qalandars to PSL title in 2022.

Shaheen Afridi Career

Shaheen Afridi has achieved a lot more than his colleagues and that too, before hitting 20 years of age.

Shaheen Afridi Domestic career

Shaheen started playing cricket at the age of 15 when he joined FATA in Pakistan on the insistence of his brother, Riaz Afridi. His performance earned him a spot in the U16 Pakistan team to play against Australia in November 2015 where he took 4 wickets in 3 matches.

He played for Pakistan in U19 Asia Cup even before making his debut for Khan Research Laboratories in 2017. Later on, he made his List A debut for Baluchistan.

Shaheen Afridi ODI Career

Shaheen made his One Day International debut on 21 September 2018 against Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi. He took 2 wickets in the match as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by 3 wickets. So far, he has two 4-wicket and one 5-wicket haul in One Day Internationals and his total wickets count is 40 in 19 matches.

Shaheen Afridi Test Career

Shaheen Afridi made his debut in Test cricket on 3 December 2018 against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi. Shaheen took 3 wickets in the match and New Zealand cricket team won the match by 123 runs.

He impressed on his maiden tour of South Africa in early 2018, claiming 9 wickets in 2 Tests at 26.66 apiece. However, Shaheen struggled to adapt to the conditions of Australia, England and New Zealand during his maiden tours between 2019-21.

He managed just 5 wickets in 2 innings in Australia; 5 in England in 4 innings at 51.60 apiece and 6 wickets in 3 innings in New Zealand at 42.83.

However, he found success at home, and on 19th December 2019, Shaheen went on to register his maiden five-wicket-haul- against Sri Lanka in Karachi- thereby becoming the eighth-youngest from Pakistan to achieve the feat.

The year 2021 proved to be a landmark year for Shaheen as he became the 3rd youngest pacer since 2000 to take 10-wicket haul in Tests.

Afridi was just 21 years and 136 days old when he registered figures of 6-51 and 4-53 against the West Indies at the iconic Sabina Park in Jamaica.

He finished as Pakistan's leading Test wicket-taker in 2021- 47 wickets in 17 innings at 17.06 apiece, with three 5-fors and 1 10-wicket-haul.

The year 2022 has been a middling one so far as he has grappled with lack of assistance for seamers on home wickets- against Australia- and then a knee injury, which he suffered during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka.

Afridi had a memorable World Cup campaign in 2019 as he claimed the most number of wickets by a teenager in a single edition of the tournament. He claimed a total of 16 wickets, which included back-to-back 4-wicket-hauls against Afghanistan and Bangladesh respectively.

His figures of 6/35 against Bangladesh remain the best by a Pakistani bowler in the quadrennial event. In April 2021, the left-arm pacer became the 8th-fastest (in terms of matches played) to take 50 wickets. Afridi’s 50th scalp came in his 25th One-day International.

Shaheen Afridi T20I Career

The T20I debut for Shaheen Afridi came on 3 April 2018 against West Indies at Karachi. He had a poor start to his career but ended up being on the victorious side at the end of the match. He has 14 wickets in 10 matches with his best bowling figures being 3/20.

Afridi's most memorable T20I performance of his career so far came during the Super-10 fixture against arch-rivals India in the T20 World Cup 2021.

The left-arm seamer knocked over the Indian opening duo of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his first two overs before returning at the death to remove half-centurion Virat Kohli.

Afridi's figures of 3/31 in 4 overs ensured that Pakistan restricted India to 151; a target which their openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan gunned down without breaking a sweat. He was eventually adjudged the 'Player of the Match'.

Two weeks later, Afridi endured contrasting returns as he conceded three consecutive sixes to Matthew Wade at the death to squander the semi-final fixture to Australia.

Shaheen did not feature in Asia Cup 2022 due to a knee injury, but he is set to make a return against India on October 23, 2022, in the Super-10 clash of T20 World Cup 2022.

Also see - Chris Gayle Biography

Shaheen Afridi Club Career

Shaheen Afridi plays for Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League. He also plays for Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League.

Afridi joined PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars at the age of 18 in the year 2018.

In 2021, he was named captain of the franchise ahead of PSL 2022. And, the left-arm seamer went on to spearhead his side to title glory at the expense of Multan Sultans in the summit clash.

He was equally brilliant with the ball as he finished as Lahore's leading wicket-taker of the season- 20 wickets in 13 innings @ 19.70/7.57.

Shaheen Afridi Family Background

Shaheen Afridi is the youngest brother of Riaz Afridi who debuted for Pakistan in 2004. He belongs to the Afridi tribe of Pashtuns and is the cousin of Yasir Afridi.

In May 2021, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi confirmed his elder daughter's engagement to Shaheen Afridi.