Islamabad
\nHe will play for Pakistan during the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023
\nAs a young boy in a family of seven cricket-mad brothers, Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi immersed himself in the sport\u00f3 even when sleeping.
\n\u201cI used to come home after training and he would take my pads and somehow wear them to bed,\u201d said elder brother Riaz, a decent player himself with one Test cap to his name.
\n\u201cHe would place the stumps next to his pillow and dream of playing,\u201d he told AFP.
\nPakistan\u00a5s hopes of winning the World Cup in India will rely heavily on the lanky 23-year-old Shaheen turning those dreams into reality.
\nThe team were recently deposed as the world\u00a5s top-ranked ODI side by India, and a less-than-stellar performance in the recent rain-hit Asia Cup won by their bitter cross-border rivals has some fans questioning the side\u00a5s commitment and ability.
\nNobody can doubt Shaheen\u00a5s devotion to the sport, however.
\nHailing from Landi Kotal \u00f3 a town near the Afghan border with a notorious reputation for smugglers and drug traffickers in Pakistan\u00a5s rugged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province \u00f3 Shaheen dedicated himself to cricket as soon as he could hold a bat.
\n\u201cHis commitment to playing was matched only by his dedication to watching matches,\u201d Riaz said.
\n\u201cHis mood would sour if Pakistan lost a match, and things would only return to normal when Pakistan won, or if he performed well himself on the field.\u201d
\nHe is now one of the most feared opening bowlers in any form of the game.
\n\u201cIn my early days, I used to throw the ball in school games instead of bowling it,\u201d Shaheen recalled.
\n\u201cRiaz bhai taught me to bowl properly, and encouraged me to bowl fast.\u201d
\nExplosive debut
\nAn early breakthrough came in 2015 when he attended a trial to join a regional Under-15 team.
\nHis towering height and rapid action caught the selectors\u00a5 attention, and it took just two deliveries for them to recognize his talent.
\n\u201cI bowled two deliveries right on target, they gave their approval,\u201d Shaheen recalls.
\nHe went on to be the most successful bowler in the championship, claiming 12 wickets, and earned a spot on the Pakistan Under-16 team for a tour to Australia in 2016.
\nDuring one of these matches, former Australian captain Steve Waugh \u00f3 there to watch his son in action \u00f3 predicted Shaheen would be a future star.
\nShaheen joined Khan Research Laboratories \u00f3 the entity which runs Pakistan\u00a5s nuclear program and also fields a First Class cricket side \u00f3 making an immediate impact.
\nOn his debut in 2017 he took eight wickets for 39 runs against a formidable Rawalpindi team \u00f3 still the best First Class debut performance by a bowler in Pakistan.
\n\u201cI was thrilled to witness his natural talent,\u201d said Aqib Javed who played 22 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan and became one of Shaheen\u00a5s mentors.
\n\u201cHis flawless action, unwavering commitment, and innate ability to swing the ball were truly exceptional.\u201d
\nShaheen, standing an impressive 1.98 metres (six feet, six inches) continued to improve every year, culminating in his inclusion in Pakistan\u00a5s Twenty20 side in 2018.
\nHe impressed with his pace in the 2019 World Cup in England, taking 16 wickets in five matches \u00f3 including tournament-best figures of 6-35 against Bangladesh at Lord\u00a5s.
\nNow established as the country\u00a5s most dominant bowler, in the 2021 Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai he destroyed India\u00a5s top order of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli with figures of 3-31 as Pakistan recorded their first and only win to date in a World Cup match against their arch-rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad He will play for Pakistan during the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 As a young boy in a family of seven cricket-mad brothers, Pakistan pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi immersed himself in the sport\u00f3 even when sleeping. \u201cI used to come home after training and he would take my pads and somehow wear them […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":359012,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-358975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n