Shaheen Afridi surpasses Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar to become the fastest Pakistan paceman to reach the ODI wickets milestone
Shaheen Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi hit a major milestone in ODI cricket during the fourth match of the tri-series against England at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.Bowling first, Shaheen dismissed England opener Tom Banton in the first over to claim his 150th wicket in the 50-over format. The 26-year-old became the second fastest Pakistan bowler overall and the fastest Pakistani fast bowler to reach the milestone.Shaheen achieved the feat in his 80th ODI, two matches more than former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who holds the record for the fastest Pakistan bowler to 150 wickets, having reached the milestone in 78 matches.However, Shaheen surpassed Pakistan speed greats Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar, who both took 91 matches to take 150 ODI wickets, to become the country’s fastest fast bowler to reach the mark.Fastest Pakistani bowlers to 150 ODI wickets
- Saqlain Mushtaq — 78 matches
- Shaheen Shah Afridi – 80 matches*
- Waqar Younis — 91 matches
- Shoaib Akhtar — 91 matches
- Saeed Ajmal — 93 matches
- Umar Gul — 104 matches
Globally, Shaheen is the fourth fastest bowler to take 150 ODI wickets. The record is held by Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane, who reached the milestone in 73 matches, followed by Mitchell Starc (77) and Mushtaq (78).Shaheen shares the fourth spot with Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and India’s Mohammed Shami, who also took 80 ODIs to complete 150 wickets.The Pakistan captain added another wicket to his tally soon after when he dismissed England batsman Joe Root caught at backward point.Shaheen won the toss and decided to play against England in the match of the three ODI series.England are looking for their first win of the tournament after losing to Pakistan by 87 runs in their opening match. They then saw Sri Lanka chase down 430 in Rawalpindi, the second-highest total chased successfully in ODI cricket, despite Harry Brook achieving the fastest double set in the 114-ball format.Meanwhile, Pakistan started the tri-series with a 37-run win over Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi and also defended their total against the same opponents. They made two changes to their playing XI for Sunday’s match, the first of the Lahore leg of the tournament.
Who do you think is the greatest Pakistani fast bowler of all time?
More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today
More than 5,000 users have already voted today
More than 3,000 users shared the opinion today
Share an opinion