Shaheen Afridi: How good has Pakistan's record-breaking pacer been in 2023 World Cup?

Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has returned to his best at the 2023 World Cup, rising to top of the table for wicket takers in the tournament.

While Pakistan have had an indifferent tournament so far, Afridi has been consistent throughout. Here we take a look at just how good Afridi has been so far.

Left-arm pacer Afridi joined the 100 wickets club with his three-wicket haul against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. In doing so, he became the quickest fast bowler ever to the milestone, reaching there in just 51 matches.

The previous record belonged to Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who had done it in 52 matches in 2016. Starc however had taken fewer balls (2,452) compared to 2,526 balls by Afridi.

With 16 wickets, Afridi is also the joint-leading wicket-taker in this World Cup with Australia’s Adam Zampa. No wonder he rose to the No1 spot in ODI rankings this week.

Afridi loves bowling in the ODI World Cup. Playing in his only second tournament, he has already taken 32 wickets in 12 games at an impressive average of 17.28, which is the third best in the World Cup among 47 bowlers who have taken 25 wickets or more.

At just 23 years of age, Afridi is the fourth highest wicket-taker from Pakistan in World Cups after Imran Khan (34), Wahab Riaz (35) and Wasim Akram (55).

To put Afridi's stunning rise in perspective, the legendary World Cup winning captain Imran took 34 wickets across five World Cups whereas Afridi has 32 in just two tournaments. What's even more amazing is that Afridi was not considered for four matches in the previous World Cup.

Pakistan are known for their fast bowlers and have produced many legendary pacers over the years. But Afridi has left all of them behind with his consistent