A Brief history of Shahid Afridi that started from Sachin Tendulkar’s bat

Shahid Khan Afridi, a living legend from Pakistan cricket generally known as Boom Boom or Lala, not just among his cricketing fans but the entire world. He made so many records throughout his career. He was a fearless cricketer with full of devotion towards his country. He contributed in so many great wins for his country against top teams of the world. Along with his great career, he was also surrounded by so many controversies throughout his life. Let’s have a look at his fearless career and the controversies he was surrounded by.

Shahid Afridi International Debut and Career

Shahid Afridi made his International debut against Kenya in October 1996 as a leg spinner but he went wicketless and didn’t bat in the match. He represented Pakistan in all three formats of this gentleman’s sports. Throughout his career, he was generally known for his aggressive batting style. On some occasions, He said about himself that he was a better bowler rather than a better batsman.

Shahid Afridi’s ODI Career

Shahid khan Afridi made his One Day International debut against Kenya on the 2nd of October 1996 as a leg spinner in the replacement of injured Mushtaq Ahmad. Shahid Afridi went wicketless and didn’t bat in this match. His ODI cap no was 109. Afridi played 398 ODIs for Pakistan Cricket Team in which he scored 8064 runs with an average of 23.57. He scored 6 centuries (100s) and 39 half-centuries (50s) with a strike rake of 117 which shows his aggressive nature. His highest score in ODIs is 124.

He also took 395 wickets in his entire ODI career with an average of 34.51. His best bowling figures in ODIs is 7/12. He took 9 five wickets hauls and grab 127 catches on the field which shows how great fielder and fit he was in his career.

Shahid Afridi’s Test Career

Shahid Afridi made his Test career debut against Australia on the 22nd of October 1998. His test cap no was 153. Because of his aggressive batting style, it seems to be like a joke that Afridi is playing test cricket but he played 27 test matches for Pakistan. He scored 1716 runs in his Test career with an average of 36.51. He scored 5 centuries and 8 half-centuries. 156 was his highest score in the entire test career.

He also took 48 wickets in his Test career with an average of 35.60. His best bowling figure in the test career is 5/52.

Shahid Afridi’s T-20 Career

Shahid Afridi made his international Twenty-20 Debut against England on the 28th of August 2006. As for the shorter nature of this format, it seems like it was the most favorable format for him. He played 99 T-20 internationals for Pakistan which shows his interest in this format of the game. His T-20 cap no was 08. He scored 1416 runs in his T-20 career with an average of 17.92. He scored 5 half-centuries in his T-20 career. His Strike rate in T-20 career was 150 which shows how aggressive nature of batsman he was in his career. His top score was 54* in T-20s.

He also took 98 wickets in his T-20 career with an average of 24.44. His best T-20 bowling figures in T-20 is 4/11.

Dream Inning with a Dream Bat

Did Shahid Afridi use Sachin’s bat to score the fastest century?

Yes! Shahid Afridi was given a cricket bat as a gift by Sachin tendulkar, he used the very same during his iconic innings where he smashed the fastest century.

As everyone wants a dream debut, but Shahid Afridi didn’t get his dream debut against Kenya where he didn’t bat and went wicketless in the match. However, in the very next match against Sri Lanka in Nairobi, he scored his dreamed inning of 104 runs on just 40 balls. Moreover, the more special about his 2nd ODI inning was that he scored the fastest century (100) on just 37 balls.

Interestingly, the bat he used to score the fastest ODI century of that time was gifted by none other than Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin, the Little Master gifted his bat to Waqar, which is then given to Afridi by Waqar later. Everyone wants a lucky bat to bat with, and that bat went lucky for Afridi.

Records of Afridi

Throughout his entire career, Afridi made and broke many international records. He held the record of the fastest ODI century on just 37 balls against Sri Lanka for 18 years.

Afridi was a game changer and that is why he holds the record of having the most “Man of the Match” awards in ODI Cricket.

He is known for his aggressive and fearless batting style and his fastest ODI century in the cricketing fraternity for so long. Shahid holds the record of hitting most sixes in ODI cricket. He also holds the record of hitting the longest six in the cricket history which is 158 meters long against South Africa.

Awards Awarded To Afridi

On March 23rd, 2010, Afridi was honored with the Pride of Performance award by the President of the Pakistan at that time. On March 23rd, 2018, He was also bestowed with Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan.

Controversies and Afridi

Because of his aggressive nature, Afridi was surrounded by controversies on the field and off the field as well. He also faced a lot of criticism for his statements in the past. He was also caught by the camera while Chewing (tampering) the ball with his bare jaws.