WATCH: 44-year-old Shahid Afridi still working his magic with the ball

Age seems to be just a number for Shahid Afridi. The veteran Pakistan leg-spinning all-rounder has been in excellent form with the ball and he still has the knack of picking wickets consistently. It was back in the ICC Men’s World T20 in 2016 that Afridi last donned the Pakistan jersey. He even played a […]
 By Sahil Jain Aug 18, 2021, 16:53 IST
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WATCH: 44-year-old Shahid Afridi still working his magic with the ball

Age seems to be just a number for Shahid Afridi. The veteran Pakistan leg-spinning all-rounder has been in excellent form with the ball and he still has the knack of picking wickets consistently.

It was back in the ICC Men’s World T20 in 2016 that Afridi last donned the Pakistan jersey. He even played a T20 international for ICC World XI in 2018 at Lord’s against West Indies. But he has still been an active cricketer and still features in various T10 and T20 leagues around the world. Moreover, he has been performing consistently as well and has been amongst the wickets.

Recently, he was playing the Kashmir Premier League T20 and he has been in superb form with the ball. The 41-year-old leg-spinning all-rounder represents the Rawalakot Hawks and he has picked up eight wickets from six wickets which have come at an average of 20.62. He has an economy rate of 7.50 and is striking once every 16 deliveries or so.

In the final of the Kashmir Premier League, Afridi played a massive role in his side win. He didn’t bat but he had a big impact with the ball. The veteran leg-spinner picked up two of the most crucial wickets.

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WATCH: 44-year-old Shahid Afridi still working his magic with the ball

Rawalakot Hawks squared off against Muzzaffarabad Tigers in the final of the Kashmir Premier League. Rawalakot Hawks scored 169 in their 20 overs. In reply, Muzzaffarabad Tigers got off to a blazing start. The opening stand was worth 54 runs which came in just 5.4 overs before the second wicket stand lasted for 3.2 overs and added 34 runs. It was Muzzaffarabad Tigers opener Zeeshan Ashraf who took the attack to the Rawalakot Hawks bowlers.

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And it required Shahid Afridi to deliver and break the partnership and that’s exactly what the Rawalakot Hawks skipper did. He was the fourth bowler to come into the attack and he struck straight away. He knocked over Ashraf to give his side a much-needed breakthrough. Ashraf dragged a slow googly which was halfway down the track back onto his stumps.

In his very next over, Afridi sent the dangerous Sohaib Maqsood back to the pavilion as well. Afridi bowled a beautiful drifter was just went on with the angle and hit Maqsood’s pad before going on to the stumps. This double-strike from Afridi changed the momentum of the game and derailed the run chase of 170 for Muzzaffarabad Tigers.

Muzzaffarabad Tigers eventually fell eight runs short of the target and Rawalakot Hawks lifted the Kashmir Premier League title. While left-arm spinner Asif Afridi picked up three wickets and won the player of the match award, Shahid Afridi was the one who turned the game. He returned with figures of 2/32.

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