England star pacer Stuart Broad recently hung his boots from all forms of international cricket. The fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia last week was his last appearance in a international match. In 167 Test matches, Broad has taken a whopping total of 604 wickets, becoming the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests and second for his side. Recently, the 37-year-old cricketer lavished praise on Pakistan star pacer Shaheen Afridi and called him one of his "favourite" bowlers in the world.
Broad stated that he really admires Shaheen and also hailed his natural ability to swing the ball.
"Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of my favorite bowlers to watch in the world. He's got such a presence about him when he runs in, and I love to see bowlers run in with energy and vibrancy to their run up," Cricket Pakistan quoted Broad as saying.
"He's got such a natural skill - the way that ball swings back into the right-handers is such a pleasure to watch. And he represented the Notts Outlaws this summer, which is close to my heart. He's one of the bowlers I admire hugely, and I want to see him do well," he added.
Talking about Shaheen, the Pakistan pacer had a good outing with the ball in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka. He took six wickets in two matches where Pakistan clinched the series 2-0.
Currently, the 23-year-old pacer is representing Welsh fire in the ongoing The Hundred Men's Competition 2023. So far, he has taken three wickets at an economy of 8.00 and is also the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament as well.
Coming back to Broad, he has played 121 matches in the 50-over format and scalped 121 wickets. His best bowling effort in the 50-over format to date is 5/23 while in T20Is, he has 65 wickets in 56 matches, with his best being 4/24. He is the fourth-highest wicket-taker for England in ODIs.
Meanwhile, in the T20I format, he has played 56 matches and taken 65 wickets with an average of 22.93. He is the third-highest wicket-taker for England in the shortest format of the game. He also was part of England's ICC T20 World Cup winning team in 2010.
(With ANI Inputs)