"I can only dream of taking 600 plus Test wickets" - Shaheen Shah Afridi heaps praise on Stuart Broad
Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has expressed his desire to take 600 Test wickets, inspired by Stuart Broad. The 23-year-old asserted that Test cricket arguably remains the best format in the game and that England's aggressive gameplay is thrilling to watch
Broad finished his professional career in the best way possible — taking the last two Australian wickets to fashion England's victory in the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval. The 37-year-old ended his career with 604 wickets in 167 Tests and is only the second English bowler with more than 600 Test victims.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Afridi, who is playing for the Welsh Fire in The Hundred, stated that one can only dream of what Broad has achieved. The youngster also suggested that Pakistan have been inspired by England's aggressiveness in Test cricket.
"I saw Broady the other day and for me, Test cricket is the best. What a legend he is. I can only dream of taking 600 plus Test wickets. Test cricket helps me so much with my fitness and makes bowling in the shorter formats so much easier. Watching the Ashes was great fun and you can see with how Pakistan played in Sri Lanka, that we are trying to be more attacking,"Afridi remarked.
Pakistan's recent 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka away witnessed the tourists score at a rate of more than four runs per over. Saud Shakeel and Abdullah Shafique were the two standout batters for them, scoring double-centuries.
"I love bowling fast and taking wickets" - Shaheen Shah Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is playing in The Hundred for the first time, stated that wickets are exceptionally important in this format and that a bowler has to aim for it off every delivery. He stated:
"It’s my first time playing this format but because you’re only allowed 20 balls, every delivery feels huge. I’m trying to get a wicket every ball. Our job is to bowl fast and take wickets. In competitions like this, the best thing you can do is take wickets, especially if a batter is set and finding the boundary. There is no secret at all. I just run in and bowl with all my heart and aim for the breakthrough for my team. I love bowling fast and taking wickets. I won’t get bored of it."
The left-arm bowler has so far taken five scalps in three innings at 12.40.