Top 5 Shaheen Afridi T20I Bowling Spells

image-lrai9329Shaheen Afridi is Pakistan's T20I captain [X.com]

Pakistan's newly-appointed T20 International (T20I) captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, claim to fame remains in the shortest format, which propelled the bowler into spearheading the attack on Test and One-Day International (ODI) as well.  

Afridi came into the limelight for his ability to bowl the swinging ball, which given his left-arm angle adds to his potency, coupled with his pace is a fearsome prospect for any batter. Over the years, the 23-year-old has developed his death overs bowling, who with a scuffed-up ball manages to produce a reverse swing, which is a rare commodity in modern-day cricket. 

In his short 52 T20I career between 2018 and 2023, Afridi has claimed 64 wickets with one four-wicket haul. In this article, we at OneCricket will focus on the top five T20I bowling spells from Afridi.



3/31 vs India, ICC T20 World Cup 2021

image-lrai766jShaheen Afridi knocks over KL Rahul [X.com]

In a bid to end India's dominance in T20 World Cups over themselves, Pakistan faced their arch-opponents, with Shaheen Shah Afridi taking the new ball. Afridi blew away India's top-order singlehandedly, first getting rid of Rohit Sharma, who fell victim to the in-swinging yorker on his first ball. 

With his tail high, Afridi knocked over KL Rahul's wickets, who played through the wrong line, and had his stumps rattled. The pacer capped off a fine spell, picking up the wicket of skipper Virat Kohli, who looked to take the match away from Pakistan's grasp. 



4/22 vs Bangladesh, ICC T20 World Cup 2022

image-lral9sw6Shaheen Shah Afridi claims his career best T20Is figures [X.com]

Having form behind his back, Shaheen Shah Afridi brought his 'A' against Bangladesh, who got blown over by the pacer in Adelaide. After a quiet first over, Afridi claimed the in-form Litton Das in his second over, only to be used in the death overs next.

First, Afridi cleaned up Mosaddek Hossain's middle-and-off stumps over with a near-perfect yorker and then removed Nurul Hasan's to down Bangladesh's surge. The pacer claimed his fourth wicket in the form of Taskin Ahmed, who looked to play the expansive drive, only to find the ball head straight into the fielder's safe hands. 


3/14 vs South Africa, ICC T20 World Cup 2022

image-lralarxzShaheen Shah Afridi celebrates Quinton de Kock's wicket [X.com]

With the slimmest of chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, Pakistan took on South Africa in Sydney, where Shaheen Shah Afridi rose like an eagle with Babar Azam and Co. defending a chase-able total.

Under cloudy conditions, Afridi knocked over Quinton de Kock in the first over while giving away just one run. In his second over, the pacer won his battle against Rilee Rossouw, who looked uneasy during his stay, handing a simple catch at third man. Brought in to open South Africa's batting, Afridi after getting smacked for consecutive fours, downed a dangerous-looking Heinrich Klassen for a 9-ball 15.


3/37 vs Australia, Tri-Nation Series, 2018

Coming off an impressive ICC Under-19 World Cup, Shaheen Shah Afridi was shown in his second T20I for Pakistan, against an in-form Australian side. With Pakistan defending 194, Afridi claimed the explosive Aaron Finch as his maiden wicket, who nicked an incoming ball to the wicketkeeper. 

In his second over, Afridi got rid of Glenn Maxwell, who found late in-swing troublesome and got leg-before. The left-arm pacer claimed his third wicket in the form of D'Arcy Short, who played the wrong line and had his leg stump rolled over.


3/20 vs New Zealand, Dubai 2018

Still finding his feet in T20Is, Shaheen Shah Afridi overcame New Zealand in his second 20-overs match against the same opponent. Coming in as third-change, Afridi got the hard-hitting Glenn Phillips for 5, who edged an away-going ball to the keeper. 

Economical as ever, Afridi came back for his final spell and got rid of Kane Williamson, who charged to a half-volley that went straight into the fielder's hand. After getting struck for a six, Afridi got the better of Tim Seifert on the second ball, where the pacer deployed the slower ball to perfection.