Shaheen Afridi

There is no denying the fact that Shaheen Afridi's potential is scaringly infinite. Blessed with a tall gangling frame and the ability to bowl really fast, Afridi also like his famous namesake can strike the ball really hard with the bat in hand. Add to all this his variety as a left-arm bowler and you know why there is immense excitement around this man in Pakistan. Born in a family of seven, Shaheen is the youngest of the lot and arguably, the most skilled as well. Despite being extremely passionate about cricket from his childhood, he was mostly into tennis-ball cricket before being guided into the real deal by his eldest brother Riaz, a one-Test wonder for Pakistan, who has also been Shaheen's inspiration and mentor.

The transition has been extremely smooth for Shaheen who has rose up the ranks briskly in real quick time. Pakistan Super League has also helped, the platform allowing youngsters like him to rub shoulders with some of the best in business. The exposure has made Shaheen a tougher man and he is still in his teenage. He is still very raw and his domestic career has just taken off recently but there is enough to suggest that he could be a menace in the coming years, depending on how Pakistan handle him. He made his international debut during the T20I series at home against West Indies in 2018 and impressed with his skill set. After being in the radar for a while, he earned his maiden ODI call up for the Asia Cup in the same year.

Shaheen also had an impressive campaign in the 2019 World Cup, despite not playing all the games. He generated good pace and also doled out fine variations at the death, ending up with 16 wickets in the tourney. Shaheen was one of the few shining lights for Pakistan who endured a disappointing tournament otherwise. Although he made his Test debut at the start of 2019, it shall be interesting to see how the PCB and the team management control his work load, given the youngster's injury-prone nature. At the moment, it seems wise to preserve him for the shorter formats where he is a deadly customer.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan