Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi to debut in county cricket next year

KARACHI: Pakistan’s young fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi, is set to make his county debut next year after signing with Hampshire County for T20 blast competition.

An announcement from the Hampshire County Cricket Club confirmed that Pakistani bowler will join the squad as an overseas player.

The 19-year-old who is former cricketer Riaz Afridi's younger brother made his ODI and T20I debuts last year in Karachi, playing against West Indies, after an impressive run in Pakistan Super League (PSL) and U19 World Cup.

Afridi now looks forward for a successful stint with Hampshire.

“I am delighted to sign with Hampshire for the upcoming Vitality Blast competition. I have always enjoyed playing in England in front of the fantastic fans and I look forward to joining this historic club for my first experience of county cricket,” Afridi said in a statement after his signing.

Afridi was Pakistan’s most successful bowler in ICC World Cup this year with 16 wickets to his credit at an average of 14.63.

His impressive international exploits in white ball cricket have translated to 54 wickets, at an average of just 21.02 in 29 limited-overs matches (40 in 19 ODIs and 14 in 10 T20Is) overall.

Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, said Shaheen offered an excellent accuracy, pace, and lots of variations.

“A lot of the best sides in T20 cricket possess a very good bowling attack and Shaheen adds an extra dimension to the group we have, offering excellent accuracy, pace and lots of variations,” White said.

"He’s an emerging young talent in world cricket and we’re delighted to have him on board for next summer’s Vitality Blast."

Afridi is the seventh Pakistani cricketer to be signed by Hampshire County Cricket Club after Aaqib Javed, Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arafat, and Sohail Tanvir.