Shaheen Afridi

Shaheen Shah Afridi (born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani international cricketer and the former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in the T20I format. He is also one of the prime bowlers of Pakistan. Under his leadership, Lahore Qalandars won their first PSL title in the 2022 season and again went on to win the 2023 season, becoming the first team in PSL history to successfully defend their title. He is the first Pakistani to win the Garfield Sobers Trophy.

Early and personal life
Afridi was born on 6 April 2000 in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (present-day Khyber District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) into a family belonging to the Zakhakhel Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. He grew up in his native Landi Kotal. He is the youngest of seven brothers; his eldest brother, 15 years his senior, is Riaz Afridi who played a solitary Test match for Pakistan in 2004. His cousin Yasir Afridi is a professional footballer who has represented the Pakistan national football team.

In March 2021, Afridi got engaged to Shahid Afridi's daughter Ansha Afridi.

In July 2022, Afridi was made an honorary Deputy Superintendent of the Police (DSP) rank in the KP Police as a goodwill ambassador.

In January 2023, it was announced that Afridi would design Lahore Qalandars' new kits for the 2023 PSL.

On 3 February 2023, he married Ansha Afridi in a private nikah ceremony.

Early career
Shaheen started his cricket career from the Tatara Ground in Landi Kotal, which is named after the nearby Tatara hills. Riaz Afridi introduced Shaheen to hard-ball cricket at the FATA Under-16 trials in 2015, with Shaheen having played only tennis-ball cricket until then. Success at this level led to Shaheen being selected for the Under-16 tour of Australia in November 2015, where he played his part with four wickets in the 2–1 victories in the One-Day and Twenty20 series.

Domestic and franchise career
In December 2016, Afridi was included in the Pakistan Under-19 cricket team selected for the 2016 Under-19 Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka. He took 3 wickets for 27 runs in Pakistan's nine wickets win over Singapore in their opening match of the U-19 Asia Cup.

In early September 2017, Afridi signed a two-year contract with Dhaka Dynamites, a major Bangladesh Premier League franchise. Later he made his first-class debut for Khan Research Laboratories in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on 26 September 2017. In the second innings of the match, he took 8 wickets for 39 runs, the best figures by a Pakistani bowler on first-class debut.

In December 2017, Afridi was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was the leading wicket-taker for Pakistan in the tournament, with 12 wickets. Following Pakistan's matches in the tournament, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Afridi as the rising star of the squad.

Afridi made his Twenty20 debut for Lahore Qalandars in the 2018 Pakistan Super League (PSL) on 23 February 2018. The following month in the PSL, during Lahore's match with the Multan Sultans, Afridi took five wickets for four runs. Lahore won the fixture by 6 wickets and Afridi was named the player of the match.

In April 2018, Afridi was named in Baluchistan's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup. He made his List A debut for Baluchistan on 25 April 2018.

In July 2019, Afridi was selected to play for the Rotterdam Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament. However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.

In December 2019, it was announced that Afridi will play for Hampshire County Cricket Club in the 2020 T20 Blast in England. In September 2020, Hampshire confirmed his participation in the 2020 T20 Blast, and announced that he will be available after fulfilling his national duties.

On 20 September 2020, in the final round of group matches in the T20 Blast, Afridi took a hat-trick and four wickets in four balls, finishing with match figures of 6/19 from his four overs and recording the best ever bowling figures at the Rose Bowl in T20 cricket.

On 2 October 2020, in the 2020–21 National T20 Cup, Afridi took his second five-wicket haul in three T20 games, with figures of 5/20 from his four overs. Three days later, Afridi took another five-wicket haul, with 5/21 in the match against Sindh. In October 2021, Afridi signed with Middlesex to play in domestic matches in England until July 2022. However, he returned to Pakistan in mid-May to prepare for the national team's home series against the West Indies.

In December 2021, he was named as the captain of Lahore Qalandars. Afridi later stated that Imran Khan had suggested for him to become captain, which led to the change in captaincy. Under his captaincy, Qalandars won the 2022 PSL, which made him the youngest captain to win a T20 league. He also ended the tournament as the leading wicket-taker.

International career
In March 2018, he was named in Pakistan's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against the West Indies. He made his T20I debut for Pakistan against the West Indies on 3 April 2018. In September 2018, he was named in Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2018 Asia Cup. He made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Afghanistan on 21 September 2018.

In November 2018, he was named in Pakistan's Test squad for their series against New Zealand. He made his Test debut for Pakistan against New Zealand on 3 December 2018.

In April 2019, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. On 5 July 2019, in the match against Bangladesh, Shaheen became the youngest bowler to take a five-wicket haul in a World Cup match, finishing with figures of 6/35. These were also the best bowling figures by a bowler for Pakistan in a World Cup match. Following the World Cup, the International Cricket Council (ICC) named Afridi as the rising star of the squad.

In December 2019, during the second Test match against Sri Lanka, Afridi took his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England. In September 2021, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

In January 2022, Afridi was named the Cricketer of the Year by the International Cricket Council. He took 78 wickets in 36 international matches in 2021. In October 2023, he took a 5 wicket haul against Australia in the 2023 Cricket World Cup match. He finished the 2023 Cricket World Cup with the sixth most wickets, taking 18 wickets in 9 matches. On 31 October, he became the fastest Pakistani bowler to get 100 wickets in ODIs, as well as the fastest pacer to do so. He achieved the feat in 51 matches, overtaking Saqlain Mushtaq, who took 53 matches to complete 100 wickets.

On 15 November 2023, Afridi was appointed as T20I captain after Babar Azam resigned from captaincy in all three formats of the game.

In May 2024, he was named in Pakistan’s squad for the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament.

Awards

 * PCB's Impactful performance of the year: 2021
 * ICC Men's cricketer of the Year, 2021.