Having claimed 16 wickets in the five matches he played in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, Shaheen Shah Afridi is right on track to becoming a match winner for Pakistan. The left armer has shown a lot of promise and took thirteen of his 16 wickets in the last three matches he played.
As noticed by experts and fans around the globe, the 19-year-old has the right combination of perfect yorkers and a great attitude. His streak of success started in Birmingham when he picked up the wickets of Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham in quick succession in match which if Pakistan lost, would have been kicked out of the tournament. Three days later, he was back against the Afghans, picking up four wickets in Leeds. He was on the way to getting a hat trick, having dismissed Gulbadin Naib and Hashmatullah Shahidi, but missed out and had to settle for 4 wickets for 47 runs. In this match, he broke the record of getting the best figures by a youngster in a World Cup match.
In the following match against Bangladesh at the Lord’s, Afridi was against among the wickets. He picked up his career best 6 wickets for just 64 runs and Pakistan crushed the Tigers by 94 runs. Though Pakistan were not able to make it to the semis and had to return home early, Afridi’s explosive bowling is assured to not let the Pakistani fans feel the absence of the other Afridi, who spit fire with his bat.
If he is given the proper training and mentor ship, which the ex-Pakistan captain and the current Prime Minister of the country Imran Khan has promised, Shaheen is well on his way to becoming the next big thing Pakistan’s cricketing history. And, given the talent and the sheer edge in his skills with the ball, Shaheen’s name will surely get in the record books soon.
