26 Interesting facts about Shahid Afridi [2023]

Shahid Afridi is a former Pakistani all-rounder, who has represented Pakistan in all formats in international cricket between 1996 to 2018. Afridi was an aggressive batsman along with a wicket-taker bowler. Afridi was more of a white-ball cricketer compared to test cricket. His famous delivery was googly, which used to trouble the batsmen a lot. For his all-around ability, he was very much demanded in the franchise cricket also. There are some interesting facts about Shahid Afridi, which will give joy to his fans. 

1. Shahid Afridi was born on 1st March 1975 in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. 

2. His full name is Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi. 

3. Shahid’s nicknames are “Boom Boom” and “Lala”. The “Boom Boom” name was given by former Indian commentator Ravi Shastri. 

4. In 1994-95,  Shahid Afridi took 42 wickets in the U-19 championship for Karachi Whites. He played a huge role in winning the tournament for his team.

5. Veteran Pakistani leggie Abdul Qadir was his idol. He had variation in his bowling along with the stock leg-spin delivery, he had quick flipper and unrecognizable googly. 

6. Afridi smashed the fastest century of the contemporary era in his 2nd ODI match, in just 37 balls against Sri Lanka in 1996 in Nairobi. The record lasted for 18 years before Newzealand’s Corey Anderson broke it in 2014 by scoring a century in 36 balls. 

7. In 1998 Shahid Afridi made his test debut against Australia in Karachi and he bagged 5 wickets in the 1st innings of his very first match. 

8. Afridi smacked his maiden test hundred against India in 1999 in Chennai, 141 off 191 balls. 

9. The destructive all-rounder scored 27 runs in Harbhajan Singh’s over in 2005 in Lahore, which is 2nd highest by any batsman in an over of a test match.

10. Shahid is the first player in the history of the T20 World Cup to win the Man of the Series award, for his 12 wickets & 91 runs in the 2007 T20 World Cup. 

11. Boom Boom Afridi was the Man of the Match in the 2009 T20 World Cup final, he scored a quick 20 balls 54 and grabbed 1 wicket against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. He is the first player to make a fifty in a successful run chase in the T20 World Cup final.

12. Afridi also holds the record of hitting the longest six in the history of cricket against Ryan McLaren in 2014 in a T20 match at Wanderers Stadium. The six was 158 meters long. 

13. The excellent T20 player from Pakistan is also the first bowler in T20I to take 50 wickets. 

14. Shahid Afridi shined in the 2011 ICC World Cup also, becoming the joint highest wicket-taker with Zaheer Khan. he grabbed 21 wickets in 8 matches. 

15. Shahid has conquered T20 cricket like a boss. He is the 3rd highest wicket-taker in T20I, with 98 wickets in 99 matches. 

16. In 2005, Afridi was banned for a test match by ICC for scratching the pitch with his spikes against England. 

17. Shahid was a sixer king on the field. He has hit the most sixes in ODIs, 351 sixes in 398 matches. 

18. The talented all-rounder’s best bowling in ODI 7/12 against West  Indies in Guyana in 2013, is the 2nd best bowling figure in ODIs. 

19. The handsome hunk from Pakistan has played in 15 ICC tournaments in his 21 years of international career. 

20. Shahid Afridi has been in the dilemma of announcing retirement many times. In 2006, he decided to retire from test cricket. But later in 2010 again made a comeback in the test team. His goal was to concentrate on limited overs games. He again retired in 2016 from international cricket due to family pressure after the T20 World Cup but later played till 2017 and eventually bid adieu to the international arena in 2017. 

21. Afridi holds two embarrassing records. The first one is conceding the most runs in T20i, 2362 runs in 99 matches, and another one is having 2nd most ducks in ODIs (30).

22. The 6ft tall leggie played the inaugural IPL season for Deccan Chargers in 2008. He took 9 wickets in 10 matches.

23. Shahid has his charitable trust called “ Shahid Afridi Foundation ”. He inaugurated it in 2014. The organization provides free food, education, and treatment to the unprivileged people of Pakistan. 

24. Afridi released his autobiography “Game Changer” in 2019.
25. Shahid Afridi’s jersey number was 10.
26. S Afridi’s estimated net worth is US$30 Million. He is one of richest cricketer in the world.

Shahid Afridi’s Career Stats

Format	Matches	Runs	Wickets	Batting Avg	Bowling Avg	Batting strike-rate	Best Bowling	Best score	5-wickets	50s	100s
ODI	398	8064	395	23.57	34.51	117	7/112	124	9	39	6
Test	27	1716	48	36.51	35.60	86.97	5/43	156	1	8	5
T20I	99	1416	98	17.92	24.44	150	4/11	54*	–	4	–