Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder cricketer, Shahid Afridi entertained fans from all around the world during his whole career. He has been leading the cricket world for almost three decades. Shahid Afridi, who is the only player from Pakistan to smash a 37 Ball 100, is set to retire from all kinds of Cricket after the PSL 7.
Since then, Afridi’s power-hitting prowess was feared around the world and despite his inconsistencies with the bat, he was regarded as one of the best hitters across the globe. Afridi’s ability to turn around a match within a space of a few overs was one of Pakistan’s biggest strengths throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
While he turned into a world-class spinner later on in his career, his occasional blitz with the bat in hand had the fans glued to their TV screens.
Afridi holds the record for the highest strike rate in ODIs in three decades. No other player in the world had a better strike rate than Afridi in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, which showcases his class as a power-hitter. India’s Kapil Dev was an extraordinary cricketer as well and he holds the record for best strike rate in the 1980s, a decade too early for the ever-green Shahid Afridi.
Let’s check the stats below mentioned stats table:
| player | Decade | Matches | Runs | Strike Rate |
| Kapil Dev | 1980s | 143 | 2,869 | 101.91 |
| Shahid Afridi | 1990s | 93 | 2,069 | 103.91 |
| Shahid Afridi | 2000s | 195 | 3,761 | 115.08 |
| Shahid Afridi | 2010s | 110 | 2,234 | 136.80 |
*Minimum 1,000 runs in a decade
The 46-year old might be retiring soon but his impact on the global game is there to stay. Afridi made his international debut more than 26 years ago, at a time when players were not renowned for hitting sixes on every other ball but he brought in a new mindset in cricket which shows that he was miles ahead of others in his time.
Stats conducted by Pro Pakistani
