Shahid Afridi could become the first player in history to take 100 Twenty20 international wickets as he heads into the ICC World Twenty20 just seven short of the milestone.
The veteran allrounder currently has 93 wickets from 94 games, having entered the recently concluded Asia Cup held in Bangladesh on 91 from 90 appearances. A poor tournament saw Afridi manage just two wickets in four games, though his economy of 5.66 was good. He did not bowl in the loss to India, took one wicket against UAE, then another versus Bangladesh before a wicketless outing against Sri Lanka.
Afridi, 36, recently admitted to the possibility of playing beyond the World T20, which he had last year said would be his final international tournament. Pakistan have a minimum of four matches in the tournament, with the possibility of the semi-finals should they dominate a tricky Group 2 which consists of India, Australia, New Zealand and a qualified. Afridi’s team opens its campaign against the qualifying team on March 16 at Eden Gardens, then play India in a marquee clash at the same venue on March 19. Three days later, they move to Chandigarh to face New Zealand and then on March 25 will play Australia at the same venue.
