"just one of the many milestones to come."
Shaheen Shah Afridi impressed fans after he became the fourth-fastest Pakistani player to take 100 Test wickets.
The left-armed bowler gained this achievement during Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka, in the second over of the opening Test in Galle.
Afridi scored his 100th wicket against Nishan Madushka. In the overall game, Afridi took three wickets.
His record states that it took the sportsman just 26 matches to reach this milestone.
Only Waqar Younis, Fazal Mahmood and Mohammad Asif achieved the feat in fewer matches.
But Shaheen Shah Afridi equalled Imran Khan, and surpassed Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram, who took 26, 27, and 30 matches respectively.
Wasim Akram later took to Twitter to congratulate the young sportsman.
He tweeted: “Congratulations Shaheen Afridi on your 100 test wickets, just one of the many milestones to come. Keep going strong!”
It was a dream return for Afridi, who had spent nearly a year on the sidelines with a knee injury.
He fell awkwardly whilst attempting to catch the ball. Coincidentally, the injury occurred at the same venue.
Shaheen Shah Afridi spoke of his excitement about returning to the pitch.
He said: “I am very excited to be making my Test comeback in the country where I was injured.”
Recalling his injury, the cricketer added:
“I was only one wicket away and the new ball was about to be available.
“I was planning to use the new ball to reach that milestone, but I got injured before we got the new ball.
“So I have had to wait a lot. It is very tough to be away from cricket, but time has helped me learn a lot, which will help me perform well for Pakistan across formats.”
Speaking about his rehabilitation program, Afridi said:
“There were times when I wanted to give up. I was working on only one muscle and it was not improving.
“Often during the rehabilitation sessions, I used to say to myself ‘this is enough, I cannot do this anymore.
“But then I used to watch my bowling on YouTube and see how well I had done and that motivated me and I told myself ‘to push a little more’.
“It is frustrating for a fast bowler to miss cricket because of an injury.”
For the historic wicket, Afridi had dismissed Dilshan Madushka, who was beaten by the extra pace and bounce, edging straight to Sarfaraz Ahmed behind the stumps.
Although Shaheen Shah Afridi spent the first half of 2023 out with injury, his personal life was in the spotlight because he got married.
In a private ceremony, he tied the knot with Ansha, the daughter of former cricket captain Shahid Afridi.
The wedding took place in Karachi, with the likes of Shadab Khan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed in attendance.
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