Pakistan’s Afridi eyes 100th wicket on Test comeback against Sri Lanka

Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi will have one eye on taking his 100th Test wicket when the two-Test series against Sri Lanka begins in Galle on Sunday.

If Afridi takes the field on Sunday for what will be his 26th Test match, it will be his first outing in the format in a year, since he picked up an injury, incidentally, on Pakistan's tour in Sri Lanka in 2022.

“I am very excited to be making my Test comeback in the country where I was injured,” Shaheen told PCB Digital in Hambantota. “Injuries are part of an athlete’s life, but it is good to be back. I enjoy red-ball cricket a lot and I am one wicket away from a century of Test wickets, which would be a big achievement for me.”

Having been gradually and systematically managed through the injury recovery process, Afridi made his international cricket return in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup last year but heartbreakingly injured his knee during the final, which Pakistan lost to England. 

He missed bilateral series against England and New Zealand before returning to action in this year’s Pakistan Super League, before featuring a home limited-over series against New Zealand, which was his first taste of international cricket since that final.  

A recent stint in England, playing T20 cricket for Nottinghamshire has also helped Afridi find his rhythm ahead of his comeback to red ball cricket, before playing in the two-day warm up game against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President's XI on Tuesday and Wednesday,  

“It takes time to get used to red-ball cricket after playing white-ball,” he said, adding: “But the Karachi camp proved beneficial for me. Test cricket demands patience and you have to work in partnerships with fellow bowlers. Over the last year, I have played more white-ball matches, but when I was playing in the United Kingdom, I bowled extra overs after matches – even with the red ball – to meet the desired workload.

“It seems like yesterday when I was injured. I will be making my Test return at the same ground where I was injured. I was talking to our physiotherapist about it. It is a matter of pride to represent Pakistan in any format and I enjoy playing for Pakistan. I hope we will have a good beginning to this cycle of the World Test Championship and we will qualify for the final, something we have missed on in the last two iterations.”

He is currently sitting on 99 Test wickets, and on the cusp of becoming the 11th Pakistani fast-bowler to take over a hundred wickets. 

“There is a lot of excitement [for that 100th wicket].”

“I was only one wicket away and the new ball was about to be available,” he said while recalling the first Test against Galle 12 months ago. “I was planning to utilise 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."