Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi is a Pakistani cricketer who represents his country in all three formats of the game. Shaheen Afridi was born on 6 April 2000 in Landi Kotal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He is a left-handed batsman and a left-hand fast bowler.

Shaheen Afridi - Along the Years

Shaheen Afridi Records

• Has the best bowling figures of 8/39 by a Pakistani bowler in his First-Class debut.

• Leading wicket-taker by a teenager in a single edition of the 50-over World Cup- 16 wickets in 2019.

• Best figures in a WC game by a Pakistani pacer- 6/35 vs Bangladesh in 2019.

• 3rd youngest pacer to take a 10-for in a Test match. He claimed the milestone against the West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in 2021.

• Fourth fastest to 100 ODI wickets (51 games)

• Ninth fastest to 100 T20I wickets (74 games)
• Number one on the list of bowlers with three consecutive four-wicket hauls in ODIs

Shaheen Afridi Awards and Accolades

• Sir Garfield Sobers' Award for being adjudged the ICC Men's Cricketer of the Year 2021.

• Adjudged 'Player of the Match' in Pakistan's historic T20 World Cup win over India in 2021 for his spell of 3/31.

• Named in ICC's Test and T20I XI of the Year 2021.

• Won PCB's 'Impactful Performance of the Year' award

• Captained Lahore Qalandars to PSL title in 2022, 2023, and 2025. He is the first captain to win three titles.

Shaheen Afridi Career

Shaheen had previously only played tennis-ball cricket, but at the 2015 FATA Under-16 tryouts, Riaz Afridi exposed him to hard-ball cricket. Shaheen was chosen for the Under-16 tour of Australia in November 2015 as a result of his success at this level.

Shaheen Afridi's Domestic career

He played for Pakistan in the U19 Asia Cup even before making his debut for Khan Research Laboratories in 2017. Later on, he made his List A debut for Baluchistan.

Shaheen Afridi ODI Career

Shaheen made his One Day International debut on 21 September 2018 against Afghanistan at Abu Dhabi. He took 2 wickets in the match as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by 3 wickets. 

Afridi had a memorable World Cup campaign in 2019 as he claimed the most wickets by a teenager in a single edition of the tournament. He claimed a total of 16 wickets, which included back-to-back 4-wicket hauls against Afghanistan and Bangladesh, respectively. His figures of 6/35 against Bangladesh remain the best by a Pakistani bowler in the quadrennial event. 

Bowling:

Shaheen Afridi Test Career

Shaheen Afridi made his debut in Test cricket on 3 December 2018 against New Zealand at Abu Dhabi. Shaheen took 3 wickets in the match, and the New Zealand cricket team won the match by 123 runs.

He impressed on his maiden tour of South Africa in early 2018, claiming 9 wickets in 2 Tests at 26.66 apiece. However, Shaheen struggled to adapt to the conditions of Australia, England, and New Zealand during his maiden tours between 2019 and 21.

He managed just 5 wickets in 2 innings in Australia; 5 in England in 4 innings at 51.60 apiece, and 6 wickets in 3 innings in New Zealand at 42.83. However, he found success at home, and on 19th December 2019, Shaheen went on to register his maiden five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in Karachi, thereby becoming the eighth-youngest from Pakistan to achieve the feat.

The year 2021 proved to be a landmark year for Shaheen as he became the 3rd youngest pacer since 2000 to take a 10-wicket haul in Tests. Afridi was just 21 years and 136 days old when he registered figures of 6-51 and 4-53 against the West Indies at the iconic Sabina Park in Jamaica. He finished as Pakistan's leading Test wicket-taker in 2021- 47 wickets in 17 innings at 17.06 apiece, with three 5-fors and 1 10-wicket-haul.

Bowling:

Shaheen Afridi T20I Career

The T20I debut for Shaheen Afridi came on 3 April 2018 against the West Indies at Karachi. He had a poor start to his career but ended up being on the victorious side at the end of the match. He has 14 wickets in 10 matches, with his best bowling figures being 3/20. In the 2021 T20 World Cup, he decimated the Indian top order and helped Pakistan to their first-ever win in World Cup competition against their arch-rivals.

Afridi was named T20I captain on November 15, 2023, following Babar Azam's resignation. He was included in Pakistan's 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup squad in May of that year. He became just the third Pakistani to achieve the 100-wicket mark in Twenty20 Internationals in December 2024. He was also the youngest bowler to reach 100 wickets in all three international cricket formats and the first Pakistani to do so.

Bowling:

Shaheen Afridi Club Career

Shaheen Afridi plays for Dhaka Gladiators in the Bangladesh Premier League. He also plays for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League. Afridi joined the PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars at the age of 18 in 2018.

In 2021, he was named captain of the franchise ahead of PSL 2022. And, the left-arm seamer went on to spearhead his side to title glory at the expense of Multan Sultans in the summit clash. He followed it up with two more titles in 2023 and 2025.

Bowling

Shaheen Afridi Family Background

Shaheen Afridi is the youngest brother of Riaz Afridi, who debuted for Pakistan in 2004. He belongs to the Afridi tribe of Pashtuns and is the cousin of Yasir Afridi. Yasir Afridi represented the Pakistani National Football team.

Ali Yar Afridi, Shaheen Afridi's son, was born on August 24, 2024, to his wife, Ansha Afridi. The well-known former Pakistani cricket player Shahid Afridi is the father of Ansha Afridi.