Shaheen Afridi Races To 100 Test Wickets But Not At Jasprit Bumrah’s Speed

Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi reached the landmark of 100 Test wickets in the first match vs Sri Lanka on Sunday. On the opening day of the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. In the third over of the innings, Shaheen bowled a superb outswinger to opener Nishan Madushka and managed to find the outside edge of the bat, which was collected by wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed cleanly behind the stumps. Right after this wicket, a slight drizzle stopped the match with Lanka's score reading 18 for 1 after 5.5 overs. 

Shaheen has achieved this feat in his 26th Test match. He has joined the elite list of Yasir Shah, Waqar Younis, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Asif and Fazal Mahmood, Saqlain Mushtaq and Danish Kaneria who have got more than 100 Test wickets in quicker time.

Stuck on 99 wickets for a year. Returns to Sri Lanka to bag the 100th wicket milestone. @iShaheenAfridi _#SLvPAKonFanCode #SLvPAK #PAKvSL pic.twitter.com/W7ydbcvo9l — FanCode (@FanCode) July 16, 2023

It is also true that Shaheen Afridi has taken two more Tests than Jasprit Bumrah to reach the landmark of 100 wickets in Test cricket. Bumrah took just 24 Tests to reach the landmark while Afridi has done in 26 Tests.

Not to forget, Afridi has returned to Test cricket after a gap of almost one year. In July 2022, Afridi had injured his knee while fielding in the deep region during the two-match series vs Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. It is only a co-incident that Afridi is returning to Lanka in the white clothing after the injury. Although Afridi had made a comeback in the T20 World Cup 2022 but he worsened his injury by falling on the ground in one of the matches. He underwent a rehab again before returning to play Pakistan Super League (PSL 2023) and County cricket. 

2023 is a big year for Pakistan. The Babar Azam-led side will be playing in Asia Cup 2023 as well as ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Shaheen will be key to their success in the tournament as he has this brilliant skill to pick wickets in just the opening over. Not to forget, this year Asia Cup will be held in 50-over format as this is an ODI World Cup year.