Shaheen Afridi Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Shaheen Afridi is a professional Pakistani international cricketer who plays as a fast bowler for Pakistan National Team.

Wiki/ Biography

Shaheen Afridi was born on Thursday, 6 April 2000 (age 23 years; as of 2023) in Landi Kotal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. His full name is Shaheen Shah Afridi. ^[1]NDTV Shaheen grew up playing tennis ball cricket in the barren hills of Landi Kotal, bordering Afghanistan.

An aerial view image of Tatara Ground in Landi Kotal, where Shaheen Afridi used to play tennis ball cricket

When his elder brother Riaz Afridi, a former Pakistani cricketer, saw Shaheen giving phenomenal performances with the tennis ball, Riaz introduced Shaheen to hardball cricket. In a quite short time span, Shaheen rose up the ranks to enter the Pakistan National Team at the tender age of 17 years in 2018.

Physical Appearance

^[2]Cricbuzz Height: 6′ 5″

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: Brown

Family, Religious Group & Ethnicity

Shaheen Afridi, a Muslim by faith, belongs to the Zakhakhel Afridi tribe of the Pashtuns. It is the largest Afridi tribe in Khyber Agency. ^[3]Business Recorder

Parents & Siblings

Shaheen’s father, Ayaz Khan, is a retired government officer, while his mother is a homemaker. Shaheen is the youngest of seven siblings.

Shaheen Afridi with his brothers

His eldest brother Riaz Afridi has represented Pakistan National Team in a test match in 2004. Shaheen is 15 years younger to Shaheen.

Shaheen Shah Afridi’s wedding photo

Shaheen Afridi during his Nikaah ceremony in Karachi, Pakistan

Signature

Career

Domestic/Regional Cricket

At the age of 15 years in 2015, Shaheen appeared for his first-ever professional cricket trial. The trial was conducted for selecting players for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) cricket team.

Shaheen Afridi at his first-ever professional cricket selection trial in 2015, wearing borrowed attire, from top to bottom

In 2017, Shaheen was signed by Dhaka Dynamites, a franchise of the Bangladesh Premier League, in a two-year contract. In the same year, on 26 September 2017, he made his first-class cricket debut for Khan Research Laboratories in the 2017–18 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He attained the bowling figures of 8 wickets for 39 runs on his debut match. These were the best ever figures achieved by a Pakistani bowler on his first-class debut match. In April 2018, he was included in Baluchistan’s squad ahead of the 2018 Pakistan Cup. On 25 April 2018, he made his List-A cricket debut for Baluchistan. Over the course of his shining career, Shaheen has played cricket for a number of franchises across the world.

International Cricket

In March 2018, owing to his noted performances in the domestic T20 tournaments, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee picked Shaheen in Pakistan’s 15-man squad for a series against the West Indies. On 3 April 2018, he made his T20 International (T20I) debut for Pakistan against the West Indies.

Shaheen Afridi receiving his T20 debut cap from Pakistani pace legend and Shaheen’s idol Wasim Akram

The same year, in September 2018, his name was included in Pakistan’s One-Day International (ODI) squad for the forthcoming Asia Cup 2018. On 21 September 2018, he played his first ODI match for Pakistan and then made his test debut for Pakistan against New Zealand on 3 December 2018.

Controversies

•  In November 2019, an imposter account of a Pakistani Tik Tok star, Hareem Shah, posted an obscene video and claimed that the person making erotic gestures in the video was Shaheen Afridi. The caption of the video read,
  

  Here is the video. The cricketer who was masturbating on a live video call. Its’ #ShaheenAfridi. He said he wanted to talk. Few mins later, he started showing his private part. Is it right?”

  The video was deleted after some time; however, till then it had already gone viral over the internet and had been downloaded by many netizens and one such person posted the video on Twitter.

Shaheen Afridi Video Call Leaked Sexual Content
Shaheen Afridi Girl Call Video Scandel Leaked@iShaheenAfridi #ShaheenAfridi pic.twitter.com/1JDYlMFYmm

— Fayaz Baloch (@BoloTricks) November 2, 2019

After the controversy made headlines, Tik Toker Hareem Shah issued an explanation saying that the Twitter account, through which the video was originally uploaded, is actually a fake account. ^[4]Twitter Later, when Shaheen was asked about the controversy during an interview, he refused to comment on it and said,

Off the field, the negative news keeps on coming. I try not to pay any attention to it. Because there is competition [for places] in fast bowling, I tend to keep my focus on performance.”

• In December 2019, Sheen Afridi landed in hot water after he passed an alleged racist remark against a Pakistani media correspondent, who was questioning him during an after-match press conference. When the journalist asked him a question, Shaheen said in Urdu,
  

  Thoda light apne aap pe karein, thoda sa nazar aaye mujhe” (Please throw some light on yourself so that I may see you clearly)

Facts/Trivia

• Shaheen Afridi had not even played under 19 regional cricket and when he was selected to play for Pakistan National Team at the age of 16 years.

• Sheheen Afridi once thought of quitting the sport after he has had a terrible outing for Qalandars in the first three matches of Pakistan Super League: Season 2017. The former Pakistan pace bowler Aaqib Javed revealed it during an interview with Cricket Pakistan in 2020. He said,
  

  He was only 17 when he (Shaheen) first represented Qalandars. He had a few bad games initially, so he came to me and said that he doesn’t want to play cricket anymore and want to return the money Qalandars’ owners have invested on him. I told him that anyone can go for runs and that one day he will become a superstar. We rested him for a couple of games and then brought him back against Multan, where he took five wickets. It is all about believing in talent and providing them an opportunity”

• For being on the list of grade A contract players of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Shaheen is entitled to PKR 1.1 million (approximately 5,20,000 in Indian Rupees) per month as per PCB Men’s Central Contract List for 2020-21. ^[5]The Statesman

• He has an Audi A4 in his car’s collection.
  

  Shaheen Afridi with his Audi A4

• On 30 June 2023, he created history by taking four wickets in the first over of the match. Representing Nottinghamshire Outlaws in a T20 Blast game against Birmingham Bears, he dismissed Alex Davies (0), Chris Benjamin (0), Dan Mousley (1), and Ed Bernard (0) consecutively, securing four wickets for his team in the opening over of the innings. ^[6]NDTV

• On 31 October 2023, Shaheen created history during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, West Bengal, by becoming the fastest Pakistan bowler to get 100 ODI Wickets. ^[7]Times Now

• Shaheen was criticised by Pakistani cricket commentator and coach Wasim Akram about his skills as an all-rounder in March 2024. He, however, silenced his critics with a sush gesture after scoring a half-century in just 28 balls in the 2024 Pakistan Super League.

Belting them out of the park! 💪

5️⃣0️⃣ 🆙 for skipper Shaheen ©️#HBLPSL9 | #KhulKeKhel | #QGvLQ pic.twitter.com/grsh4f1VSh

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 10, 2024