Shahid Afridi Birthday Special: A Look at Highs and Lows of Former Pakistan Captain’s Cricket Career As He Turns 43

The game of cricket has seen some outstanding faces and then there is the enigmatic Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, the one we know as Shahid Afridi. Popularly known as 'Boom Boom Afridi' by cricket lovers and 'Lala' by his teammates, the all-rounder has had quite a terrific yet turbulent career graph in Cricket. Afridi is considered as one of the greatest all-rounders ever to have graced the game. He has been ruling the hearts of millions for more than two decades with his belligerent displays with the bat, match-turning spells with the ball, and unbelievable fielding skills in his professional career. As the Pathan prince turns 43 today, here's a look at his exciting run in the game of Cricket. Babar Azam, Pakistan Cricket Team Captain, Registers for The Hundred 2023 Draft.

Afridi made his Test debut in 1998, taking a fifer straight away in his first match at Karachi against Australia. In his very first innings in ODI cricket, Afridi broke Sanath Jayasuriya's record, scoring the then fastest ODI century off just 37 balls. For more than 17 years, it remained the fastest century in the ODI format before Corey Anderson broke it in January 2014.

He soon became a crowd-puller for just his eccentric batting style. As entertaining as it was to the viewers, it sometimes proved to be infuriating to his teammates as he lost his wicket quickly. Occasionally, however, he would deliver the unexpected off-breaks. This was interspersed with some stunning knocks such as the one against India in 2005 when he got to his hundred in 45 balls.

With the advent of the T20 format, Afridi soon became the format's best player internationally, with an appearance in the final of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 and a win in the subsequent edition, in 2009, as captain, when he scored an unbeaten 54 to help Pakistan lift the T20 World Cup title. Stump Breaking! Tom Curran Breaks Fakhar Zaman's Middle-Stump During Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United PSL 2023 Match (Watch Video).

Despite his thrilling run as a cricketer, controversies have dogged him throughout. In 2005, Afridi was banned for a Test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch in the second match of the three-Test series against England. Again in 2007, he was seen thrusting his bat into a fan's face after a scuffle and was banned for the first two matches of the 2007 Men's World Cup. In 2010, he was found guilty of ball tampering when he was caught biting the ball in an ODI against Australia. A ban for two T20Is followed.

In 2018, Afridi announced his retirement from International cricket. Afridi has featured in 398 ODIs for Pakistan and scored 8064 runs at an average of 23. The right-arm spinner has picked 395 wickets for Pakistan in the said format. He played 27 Test matches for his national side, scoring 1716 runs and picking up 48 wickets.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2023 10:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).