Shaheen Shah Afridi was on fire as he took three wickets, helping Pakistan limit Bangladesh to 204 in their ODI World Cup league stage match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday.
The left-handed bowler dismissed Tanzid Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto, and Mahmudullah, making him the top wicket-taker in the current tournament with 16 wickets from seven games. With this achievement, Shaheen has also made his way into Pakistan’s all-time wicket tally for the ODI World Cup.
With his three wickets on Tuesday, Shaheen surpassed his father-in-law and former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, as well as Shoaib Akhtar. Both Afridi and Akhtar had previously taken 30 wickets.
Shaheen now has 32 wickets to his name with an impressive average of 17.28. This puts him just behind former World Cup-winning captain Imran Khan who has 34, Wahab Riaz with 35, and Wasim Akram who leads with 55 wickets.
“Shaheen Afridi is in a league of his own. He consistently takes wickets with the new ball and puts the opposing team under pressure, which is great for us,” Haris Rauf commented during the innings break at Eden Gardens.
Shaheen made his World Cup debut for Pakistan in the previous tournament held four years ago in England and Wales. During that tournament, he managed to take 16 wickets.