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Is Shaheen Afridi Actually Better Than Wasim Akram At 24? Statistical Study Explains

Shaheen Afridi and Waseem Akram-(X.com)Shaheen Afridi and Waseem Akram-(X.com)

When Shaheen Afridi made his international debut in 2018, he took the world by storm with his scintillating display with the ball. Over the years, he was touted to be the next big thing in cricket and often got compared to some of the legends of the game. 

Talking about 2024, Shaheen has had a below-average year and looked a pale shadow of his previous versions. His performance has somewhat reflected in Pakistan's results as well as the Men in Green have had a disastrous year with an early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024. 

Nonetheless, Shaheen's calibre and talent cannot be undermined as he is still among the wickets, and thus, this article will compare his stats with Wasim Akram, who too took the cricketing world by storm after his debut in 1984 and ended his career as one of the best fast bowlers the game has seen. 

Shaheen Afridi vs Wasim Akram At 24: The Better Bowler

Firstly, talking about Wasim Akram, he made his international debut in 1984 at the age of 18. In the next six years, Akram played 136 games across formats and took 275 wickets. 

Akram, at the age of 24, played 37 Tests, in which he had 142 scalps, while he also took 133 wickets in 99 ODI games. 

Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi has a better wicket-taking ratio as he has played 153 matches across formats, 17 games more than Akram by the age of 24. Meanwhile, Shaheen has taken 315 wickets. 

Talking about individual formats, Shaheen, has 115 wickets in Test cricket in 30 matches, while ODIs has been his forte with 104 wickets in 53 matches. In T20Is, Afridi has 96 wickets in 70 matches.