Shaheen Shah Afridi: “Shahid Afridi always gives us tips; he is my hero. My effort is to play cricket like him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi said he wants to play like legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who is renowned for being one of the best six-hitters and a handy wicket-taker.
Having recently been appointed Pakistan’s T20I captain, Shaheen knows that there will be extra pressure on him to perform with the ball since he is the leader of the pace attack.
In addition to this, he is constantly expected to get early wickets with the new ball as he has developed a habit of doing it.
Considering he is on the path to greatness, the 23-year-old is determined to be as good as Shahid, who is his father-in-law.
“Shahid Afridi always gives us tips; he is my hero. My effort is to play cricket like him,” Shaheen was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
In the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Shaheen picked up 18 wickets in nine matches, which included a five-wicket haul against champions Australia, at an average of 26.72.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign in disappointing fashion as England battered them by 93 runs.
Afridi will now play in Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which begins on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi