Shaheen Afridi has been the leading test wicket taker among Asians since his debut

By Talat Masood Nov 30, 2021, 10:25 IST
Pakistan's swift bowling spearhead Shaheen Afridi continued his rich form when he picked up another Test five wicket haul in the first friendly against Bangladesh. Shaheen finished the first Test 7/102, giving Pakistan a golden chance to win the first Test of the series with two games.

Shaheen has been great for Pakistan in all game formats. He has picked up 83 wickets in test cricket since his debut, which is the most from an Asian bowler during the period. The Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin also had 83 wickets in his name during the same period.

Only three bowlers have more wickets in the longest format in the game since Shaheen Afridi made his test cricket debut. The New Zealand sailor Tim Southee, the new Australian test captain Pat Cummins and the experienced English speed bowler Stuart Broad have been the leading wicket takers in test cricket since December 2018.

Afridi and Ashwin have played eight and seven games respectively this year and are prominently represented for their teams in ongoing test series. India plays New Zealand at home while Pakistan is on an away tour in Bangladesh.

Read Here | Shaheen overtakes Ashwin to become the leading wicket taker in 2021

Afridi hit his career highs in one innings that year against the West Indies, grabbing six wickets for 51 runs, while Ashwin's top outing that year was 6-61 against England in February.

Shaheen's 83 wickets have averaged 24.34 in 33 innings. In his short test career he has taken four five-wicket-hauls and one ten-wicket-haul.

Here are the leading Asian wicket-takers since Shaheen’s Test debut:

Shaheen Afridi    Matches, 20    Wickets, 83    Average, 24.34
Ravichandran Ashwin    Matches,16    Wickets, 83    Average, 20.60
Jasprit Bumrah    Matches,18    Wickets, 73    Average, 21.72
Mohammad Shami    Matches,18    Wickets, 67    Average, 23.00
Lasith Embuldeniya    Matches,13    Wickets, 55    Average, 35.20

Here are the overall leading wicket-takers since Shaheen’s Test debut:

Tim Southee    Matches,20    Wickets, 102    Average, 21.81
Pat Cummins    Matches,20    Wickets, 98    Average, 20.10
Stuart Broad    Matches,25    Wickets, 91    Average, 22.14
Shaheen Afridi    Matches,20    Wickets, 83    Average, 24.34
Ravichandran Ashwin    Matches,16    Wickets, 83    Average, 20.60