Shaheen Afridi enters elite list of Pakistan bowlers with career milestone

MIRPUR: Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi joined an elite group of national greats after claiming his 400th international wicket during the first Test against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The left-arm pacer achieved the milestone when he dismissed Bangladesh batter Mominul Haque on the fourth day of the ongoing Test, becoming only the fifth fast bowler and ninth overall to reach the landmark.

With the landmark wicket, Shaheen joined legendary Pakistan pacers Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis among the country’s leading wicket-takers in international cricket.

The 25-year-old reached the milestone in his 211th international appearance and moved to ninth on Pakistan’s all-time list of highest wicket-takers across formats.

Most international wickets for Pakistan (Tests, ODIs and T20Is):

• Wasim Akram – 916
• Waqar Younis – 789
• Imran Khan – 544
• Shahid Afridi – 538
• Saqlain Mushtaq – 496
• Saeed Ajmal – 447
• Shoaib Akhtar – 438
• Umar Gul – 427
• Shaheen Afridi – 400*

In the opening day of the first Test match, the ODI skipper achieved a major ICC World Test Championship milestone by becoming the first Pakistani bowler to complete 100 wickets.

Afridi reached the landmark after dismissing Bangladesh opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy during the opening day’s play.

With this achievement, the 26-year-old also became only the 19th bowler overall to have claimed 100 or more wickets in the World Test Championship (WTC), further cementing his position as Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the competition.

Most wickets for Pakistan in ICC World Test Championship

• Shaheen Afridi – 103*
• Noman Ali – 89
• Sajid Khan – 63
• Naseem Shah – 60
• Abrar Ahmed – 46
• Yasir Shah – 41
• Hasan Ali – 35
• Mohammad Abbas – 34