Shahid Afridi prefers the limited-overs formats over Test cricket

Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistani cricketer, is mostly renowned for his unflinching approach on the cricket pitch. He forayed into international cricket back in 1996 and in May this year, he hung his boots after representing World XI in the match against Windies at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Albeit, he couldn’t deliver with the willow, he ended up picking one wicket.

The 38-year-old was popular mostly because of his prowess in white-ball cricket. He played 398 matches in the 50-overs format in which he has scored 8064 runs and picked up 395 wickets. Moreover, the veteran plied his trade in 99 T20Is and ended with 1416 runs and 98 wickets. Recently, he mentioned that he prefers the white-ball formats more than the rigours of Test cricket.

Afridi’s disliking for Tests

“For me in today’s times, Test cricket, no way. I loved playing One-Dayers. I feel if you don’t enjoy something then you are forcibly trying to do it and I never liked being forced into anything. With T20s and T10s, our careers too have stretched. Lesser the overs in a format, our careers will carry on for a longer time,” Afridi was quoted as saying in Khaleej Times.

The Khyber Agency-born retired cricketer’s Test career wasn’t an illustrious one. He first got a taste of the format during Pakistan’s match against Australia in Karachi in 1998. Thereafter, he went on to play 27 Tests and could only manage 1716 runs at an average of 36.51. His top score of 156 came against India in Faisalabad. He bid adieu to Test cricket back in 2010.

He is currently playing for the Paktia Panthers in the inaugural edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). He went for 55 runs with the ball against Rashid Khan’s Kabul Zwanan, which happened to be the second time when he conceded more than 50 runs in the T20 format. The seasoned campaigner also hasn’t done anything of sorts with the bat in hand.

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