Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s tweet on his birthday has attracted some controversy. Afridi who celebrates his birthday on March 1 thanked fans and family and made a revelation about his age that he has turned 44 in a tweet.
“Thank you very much for all the lovely birthday wishes - 44 today! My family and my fans are my biggest assets. Really enjoying my stint with Multan and hope to produce match winning performances for all MS fans,” his tweet read.
Now when he has revealed his real age, it does dismantle him from certain records and one of these is being the youngest player to score a hundred in ODI cricket.
Afridi scored the then fastest ODI ton after he completed his century in 37 balls against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996. He eventually scored 102 off 40 deliveries before getting out.
The right-handed batsman was supposed to be 16 years and 217 days old when he notched up the hundred. But after his own admission about his age now, Afridi would have been 19 years 217 days old when he had scored this century against the Lankan lions.
This means that he is not the youngest batsman to score a century in ODI cricket. In fact, Afghanistan's Usman Ghani should now hold this record who was 17 years and 242 days old when he struck 118 in 143 balls against Zimbabwe back in 2014.
Afridi’s record of the fastest ODI century was taken over by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson who notched up the 100-run mark in 36 balls against West Indies in 2014.
Later, this record was broken by South Africa’s AB de Villiers who scored a completed a hundred in just 31 balls against the Caribbean team in 2015.