ISLAMABAD: Twitter paid rich tributes to Pakistani cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi, also known as “The Eagle” by cricket enthusiasts worldwide, on the left-arm pacer’s 23rd birthday on Thursday.
The left-arm fiery pacer, who made his international debut for Pakistan in 2018, has established himself as one of the most feared pacers in modern-day cricket today. At 6ft 6 inches tall, Afridi can bowl toe-crushing yorkers on bouncy pitches and, at the same time, generate bounce due to his tall height on even the most docile pitches of the UAE.
Afridi has taken an impressive 219 scalps in international cricket from the 104 matches that he has played so far. Pakistan’s pace sensation broke another impressive record last month when he became the first captain of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to win back-to-back PSL trophies.
However, his most memorable performance came in October 2021 when the pacer destroyed a strong Indian upper batting order after taking the wickets of Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul and Virat Kohli, setting up a historic 10-wicket victory for Pakistan.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) paid tribute to Afridi, listing his impressive achievements and stats while wishing him on his birthday.
Former Pakistan captain and Afridi’s father-in-law, Shahid Khan Afridi, took to Twitter to wish the pacer, uploading pictures of the two celebrating the special occasion.
“HBD @iShaheenAfridi khush Rahoo [stay happy]…..,” the former captain wrote on Twitter.
“Wishing you a very happy birthday. Keep flying high,” Pakistani batter Iftikhar Ahmed congratulated Afridi on Twitter.
“King Babar Azam Army,” a Twitter fan account of Pakistani skipper Babar Azam, uploaded an animated clip of the iconic delivery that Afridi bowled to dismiss Rahul in 2021.
“One of the Best Spell I have Seen and Surely Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fans will always Remember this for rest of their life,” it wrote on Twitter.
Afridi’s most memorable achievement also came in 2021 when he was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy and recognized as the ICC men’s cricketer of the year. That year, Afridi took 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20, beating out the competition to win the coveted trophy.
