RCB wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik.
Credit: Dh File Photo
In his first stint in The Hundred tournament, Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi shocked the cricketing world by claiming two wickets in his first two deliveries.
Afridi, playing for the Welsh Fire, managed this feat against the Manchester Originals. Rain played a spoilsports and reduced the match to 40 balls per innings.
Batting first, Welsh Fire scripted a score of 94 for 3. The Manchester side, thanks to Afridi's exploits, were only able to put up a score of 85 for 4. The wickets of Phil Salt and Laurie Evans, bagged by Afridi, played a significant part in the Welsh side's victory.
In a post-match media interaction, Shaheen was seeing chatting with veterans of the game - India's Dinesh Karthik and England's Stuart Broad, according to a report published by NDTV. Karthik, who stood in the middle of the two players, later took to X (formerly known as Twitter) where he took a jibe at his own height, saying, "I feel for you @BenDuckett1."
The former wicketkeeper-batter tweeted this in reference to a picture from the Ashes series where a 5' 7" Duckett was seen standing between batter Zak Crawly and Broad himself, who are both 6' 5" in height.
The publication quoted Broad heaping praises on Afridi per Cricket Pakistan: "Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of my favorite bowlers to watch in the world. He's got such a presence about him when he runs in, and I love to see bowlers run in with energy and vibrancy to their run up."
He further added, "He's got such a natural skill - the way that ball swings back into the right-handers is such a pleasure to watch. And he represented the Notts Outlaws this summer, which is close to my heart. He's one of the bowlers I admire hugely, and I want to see him do well."