22-year-old Shaheen Afridi has emerged as one of the top all-format bowlers in the world.
The lanky seamer has the advantage of being a left-hand pacer; he’s coupled it with pace and accuracy, and has the abilities to swing the ball into right-handers and seam it away from them; plus Shaheen has a deadly, toe-crushing yorker – he has all the components to make up for a menacing, fear-inducing fast bowler. There is perhaps no pacer currently in the world more threatening with the new ball than Shaheen Afridi.
When he burst onto the scene, many who didn’t know much about him thought that he is related to legendary Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi in some way. But, he was not – until Shaheen got engaged to Shahid Afridi’s eldest daughter Aqsa last year.
How old was Shaheen Afridi when Shahid Afridi made his international debut?
Shahid Afridi made his Pakistan debut in an ODI on October 2, 1996, vs Kenya. However, Shaheen Shah Afridi was born four years after Shahid Afridi’s debut, on April 6, 2000. (This date is according to ESPNcricinfo; however, there have been rumours about discrepancies in Shaheen’s age and birthdate, just like it had always been during Shahid Afridi’s career.)
But, we have got a few cute pics of Shaheen Shah Afridi as a child.
Shaheen Afridi ruled out of Asia Cup 2022
The latest news about the left-arm fast bowler is that, unfortunately, he will be missing the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 due to a knee injury that he had sustained last month while fielding in a Test against Sri Lanka.
Shaheen had been named in Pakistan’s squad for the Asia Cup, a tournament which they haven’t won since 2012, but now the PCB will have to name a replacement.
He has been “advised 4-6 weeks rest by the PCB Medical Advisory Committee” which means that along with the Asia Cup he will also miss the following 7-T20I series against England at home.
Shaheen Afridi, 22, was gutted to miss out on an important tournament ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
“I have spoken with Shaheen and he is understandably upset with the news, but he is a brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team. Although he has made progress during his rehabilitation in Rotterdam, it is now clear he will require more time and is likely to return to competitive cricket in October,” said PCB Chief Medical Officer Dr Najeebullah Soomro.
This comes as perhaps a big relief for the Indian fans and the Indian batting top-order. For Shaheen was the wrecker-in-chief when he dismantled India’s batting in their previous encounter – at the T20 World Cup 2021: the fast bowler dismissed Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in his opening spell in the powerplay, and toward the end of the innings, he got rid of Virat Kohli, paving the way for Pakistan’s victory.
