Shaheen Shah Afridi, the rising sensational fast bowler from Pakistan, has signed a two-year contract with Dhaka Dynamites, one of the leading franchises of Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Shaheen will be playing BPL 2017 with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Sunil Narine and Shahid Khan Afridi.
Born in Khyber Agency of FATA, Pakistan, Shaheen is just 17 years old. Mushtaq Ahmed, the legendary leg spinner of Pakistan and the head coach of National Cricket Academy, discovered him a few years ago during an under-16 talent hunt programme of the Pakistan Cricket Board and trained him further.
According to sources, Ahmed also had a word with Kumar Sangakkara about Shaheen and put a strong word in for Dhaka Dynamites. Waqar Younis, one of the greatest fast bowlers of the cricket world, also rated him highly and endorsed his talent.
Shaheen is a left arm pacer and has a swift repeatable action with a remarkable temperament.
His natural swing is in-swing to the right handers but he can also bowl away from the right handers. When he was put on the speed gun during PCB U16 camp last year, he was consistently hitting 135+ and occasionally 140+, and he was just 16 at the time. As he is getting stronger and playing competitive cricket, a further rise is expected in his speed in the future.
In short, Shaheen has everything which makes him a remarkable and promising fast bowler. He was also fortunate to have been coached and mentored by the renowned coach of Peshawar, Abdul Rehman, the assistant coach of Peshawar Zalmi.
Saya Corporation, the company that represents Shaheen, has confirmed that various teams of Pakistan Super League (PSL) are keen on playing Shaheen in the upcoming edition of the PSL.
Pakistan has been known for his destructive pace bowling and with youngsters like Shaheen, the future of fast bowling in Pakistan looks promising.
