Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi paid his tribute to legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar after picking his first wicket during the fifth T20I against New Zealand.
The 24-year-old shattered the stumps of Tom Blundell and took his 50th wicket in the first over of a T20 innings. Instead of his own celebration, Shaheen did an Akhtar celebration by opening his arms and running.
It must be noted pacer Shoaib Akhtar was present in the Gaddafi Stadium where he presented the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 trophy to the fans.
The trophy reached Pakistan on Wednesday night and was on display in front of the National Assembly on Thursday.
Remember, Akhtar is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers to ever grace the game. He holds the record of bowling the fastest bowl to date at 161.3km/h.
The Rawalpindi Express represented Pakistan in 46 Test matches, where he took 178 wickets with a 3.37 economy.
In ODIs, the former speedster appeared in 163 Test matches, where he took 247 wickets with a 4.76 economy. On the other hand, he didn’t get to play many T20Is with the Green Shirts as he only featured in 15 international matches where he took 19 scalps.
Despite being a legendary bowler, Akhtar had his fair share of injuries throughout his career as the Rawalpindi-born missed the 2007 World Cup where Pakistan suffered a painful group-stage exit.
The 2011 World Cup in India was his final international tournament for the Green Shirts where he only played in group matches and wasn’t included in the knockout stages.