Shaheen Shah Afridi was removed from the attack duing his disastrous Big Bash League debut on Monday (December 15) after bowling two beamers in an over.
Shaheen Shah Afridi's disastrous BBL debut
Opening the bowling for Brisbane Heat against Melbourne Renegades, Afridi went for nine runs in his first over, including a wide, before returning to bowl the 13th over, where he was hit for two fours and a six. An eventful 18th over was his third, where Oliver Peake welcomed him with another maximum.
The third delivery of the over was a beamer, which Tim Seifert managed to play towards long on to take two runs and complete his hundred. Afridi managed to limit any damage on the free hit with a well-directed yorker, but followed that up with another no-ball.
The ensuing free hit again cost just one run, but the Pakistan pacer then bowled a second beamer in the over and was thus taken off the attack. Heat’s captain Nathan McSweeney bowled the remaining two deliveries of the over, which went for five runs.
Afridi turned out to be his side’s most expensive bowler on the night after McSweeney, conceding 43 runs in just 2.4 overs, to mark a disappointing BBL debut. The Renegades went on to post 212 in 20 overs, with Seifert (102 off 56) hitting a fourth T20 hundred and Peake contributing with a 29-ball 57.
Earlier in the Renegades’ innings, Afridi’s Pakistan teammate Mohammad Rizwan also had a forgettable BBL debut. Batting at No.3, he could score just four off 10 before falling to left-arm spinner Patrick Dooley. On Sunday (December 15), Babar Azam, also playing his first BBL match, was dismissed for two off five balls as well, making it a tough initiation to the league for the star Pakistan trio.
Match 2, Melbourne Renegades vs Brisbane Heat
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Afridi had only recently returned to full fitness after a foot injury kept him out of the majority of the T20I tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. After playing the series opener against Zimbabwe, the left-arm pacer then returned for the final against Sri Lanka, where he returned with figures of 3-0-18-3 in a Pakistan victory.
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