Afridi living the life brother Riaz couldn’t
pakistan win
153 for 7 in 20 overs (Colin munro 44, Corey anderson 44 not out, Kane Williamson 37, Shaheen Shah afridi 3-20) lost to Pakistan: 154 for four in 19.4 overs (babar azam 40, asif ali 38, mohammad Hafeez 34 not out, Fakhar Zaman 24) by 6 wickets. dubai — Shaheen Shah Afridi’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric and the left-arm fast bowler credited his brother former international Riaz as well as Aaqib Javed for him being fast-tracked to the Pakistan team.
The 18-year-old was playing in the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand early this year and his showing didn’t go unnoticed with him being one of the finds of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which in turn saw him make it to the National team.
And Afridi revealed that his brother is one whom he looks up to.
“He has been an inspiration to me. I started playing cricket and fast bowling after watching my brother. Before a match, I have a chat with him on how to bowl and how to go about it against certain batsmen,” Afridi said, after snapping up three for 20 against New Zealand in the second T20 International in Dubai on Friday night.
“I’ve been performing well since my time with the Under-19 team and also in first class cricket. And when I became a part of the Pakistan team, the senior players supported me a lot. I would like to thank Azhar bhai (Mahmood) who has worked really hard with me in the nets. I would also like to thank Aaqib bhai (Javed) because the PSL is a big platform and I got an opportunity to be a part of it. And I would definitely talk about the influence my brother has had on my career. I learn from him every day,” he added.
Afridi is living the life which perhaps Riaz couldn’t. Pakistan have been blessed with a fine assembly line of fast bowlers and Riaz was one too from the North West Frontier Province. But he managed to play a lone Test, against Sri Lanka in Karachi in 2004, as he went on to join the disbanded Indian Cricket League in 2007. “I think he was the best during his time,” opined Afridi.
Pakistan have had a certain Shahid Afridi but Shaheen said that the illustrious name isn’t weighing him down. “There is not much pressure. My name is Shaheen Afridi and I would like to make a name for myself,” he giggled and said. Pakistan 2016-18 Photos by M. Sajjad