page_title: Shahid Afridi
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Shahid Afridi / International career
caption_attribution_description: English: This graph details the Test Match performance of Shahid Afridi. It was created by Raven4x4x. The red bars indicate the player's test match innings, while the blue line shows the average of the ten most recent innings at that point. Note that this average cannot be calculated for the first nine innings. The blue dots indicate innings in which Afridi finished not-out. This graph was generated with Microsoft Excel 2002, using data from Cricinfo [1] and Howstat [2]. The information in this chart is current as of 30 December 2007.
context_page_description: Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, chiefly known as Shahid Afridi, also referred to in the media as Boom Boom, is a Pakistani international cricketer and the former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. As a successful all-rounder, Afridi was respected for his consistent bowling that relied on change of pace rather than spin, but he drew greater attention for his aggressive batting style. Afridi was the world record holder for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries and holds the distinction of having hit the most sixes in the history of ODI cricket.
  Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman and has taken over 350 wickets in ODI and 48 Test wickets. As of January 2020, Afridi is 2nd on the chart of most T20I wickets, with 98 wickets from 99 matches.
  On 19 February 2017, Afridi announced his retirement from international cricket. However, he made a brief return to international cricket after being selected to represent and captain the World XI against West Indies in the 2018 Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge charity match.
context_section_description: In October 1996, Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996–97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed. He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya; however, he didn't bat and went wicketless. In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equaled the record for most in an ODI innings. Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match. The record for fastest century in ODI was broken by New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson on 1 January 2014 who reached triple-figures from 36 balls and is now held by South-African cricketer AB de Villiers who made a century from 31 balls on 18 January 2015 against West Indies.
  Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998. By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests. He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings. He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990. Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs. After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.
  In 2001, Afridi signed a contract to represent Leicestershire. In five first-class matches he scored 295 runs at an average of 42.14, including a highest score of 164, and took 11 wickets at an average of 46.45; Afridi also played 11 one day matches for the club, scoring 481 runs at an average of 40.08 and taking 18 wickets at 24.04. His highest score of 95 came from 58 balls in a semi-final of the C&G Trophy to help Leicestershire beat Lancashire by seven wickets. Derbyshire County Cricket Club signed Afridi to play for them in the first two months of the 2003 English cricket season. In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.
  Afridi made his presence felt in the third Test against India in March 2005, scoring a quick-fire second-innings half-century and taking five wickets in the match (including Tendulkar twice) to help Pakistan to win the game and register a series draw. In April Afridi struck what at the time was the equal second-fastest century in ODIs; he reached 100 off 45 deliveries against India, sharing the record with West Indian Brian Lara. Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour. The Pakistani coach Bob Woolmer helped Afridi to reach a fuller potential by improving his shot selection and giving him free rein over his batting attitude.
  On 21 November 2005, Shahid Afridi was banned for a Test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch in the second match of the three-Test series against England. Television cameras pictured him scraping his boots on the pitch scuffing the surface when play was held up after a gas canister exploded. Afridi later pleaded guilty to a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct relating to the spirit of the game. Match referee Roshan Mahanama said: "This ban should serve as a message to players that this type of behaviour is not allowed."
  On 12 April 2006, Afridi announced a temporary retirement from Test cricket so that he could concentrate on ODIs, with a particular focus on the 2007 World Cup, and to spend more time with his family. He said he would consider reversing his decision after the World Cup. Afridi had played ten Tests since being recalled to the side in January 2005, averaging 47.44 with the
caption: An innings-by-innings breakdown of Afridi's Test match batting career up to 30 December 2007, showing runs scored (red bars) and the average of the last ten innings (blue line)
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