Shaheen Afridi reveals how Shahid Afridi's wicket boosted him in international cricket

Shaheen Afridi came into the limelight during the U19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year. He picked up 12 wickets in five matches and was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament. His team progressed to the semi-final of the event based on some superlative spells of bowling by the left-arm seamer. He was picked up to play for the Lahore Qalandars in the third edition of the PSL.

He didn’t disappoint and notched seven wickets in as many matches. During one of the contests against the Karachi Kings, Shaheen displayed some great temperament and nipped out Shahid Afridi’s wicket after being clobbered for a six. In April this year, he made his debut in international cricket and reckons Afridi’s scalp to have boosted his confidence to a significant extent.

“He was much happier”- Shaheen on Sarfraz

“Shahid Afridi is a very big name, not just in our country but globally. He hit me for six first ball in the PSL, but with the next one I got him out. I was very happy about that. After PSL, I don’t think any international match is tough for me. After that, I’m calm playing international cricket,” Afridi was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

The 18-year old youngster played only his second T20I yesterday versus Australia at the Harare Sports Club and churned out three crucial wickets of D’Arcy Short, Aaron Finch, and Glenn Maxwell to push the Aussies on the back foot. The Khyber-Agency born cricketer seemed happy on his performance while also mentioning Sarfraz Ahmed’s satisfaction after the strong show from the bowling attack.

“This is by far the coldest day of cricket I’ve ever played. Since yesterday I’ve been planning on getting these two wickets and trying to work out how to get them out early. He’s definitely happy with the bowling attack today. He’s the captain, and sometimes that happens when he’s unhappy, but today he was much happier with our performance,” he added.

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