Pakistan Pacer Shaheen Afridi picked by Hampshire for T20 Blast

Shaheen Afridi (IANS)

London, Dec 19:  Left-arm Pakistan pacer Shaheen Afridi has been picked by Hampshire for next year's T20 Blast competition. Shaheen, who has played 31 T20s and has 40 wickets, is expected to be available for the entire duration of the tournament.

Afridi has become a crucial part of Pakistan's seam attack across all formats in the last 18 months with the 19-year-old making 34 international appearances in that time, including the 50-over World Cup.

"I am delighted to sign with Hampshire for the upcoming Vitality Blast competition. I have always enjoyed playing in England in front of the fantastic fans and I look forward to joining this historic club for my first experience of county cricket," said Shaheen in an official statement.

Afridi burst onto the international scene in April 2018 when he was rewarded for an excellent domestic Pakistan Super League campaign with a T20I call-up for the national side's series against the West Indies. Further international honours quickly followed with the 19-year-old also making his Test and ODI debuts last year.

Standing 6ft 6in tall, he claimed the best figures for Pakistan in a World Cup with 6-35 at Lord's in July -- those figures also proved to be the best of the tournament as he finished with 16 scalps at an average of 14.63 in the tournament.

His impressive international exploits in white-ball cricket have translated to 54 wickets at an average of just 21.02 in 29 limited-overs matches overall.

"A lot of the best sides in T20 cricket possess a very good bowling attack and Shaheen adds an extra dimension to the group we have, offering excellent accuracy, pace and lots of variations. He's an emerging young talent in world cricket so we're delighted to have him on board for next summer's Vitality Blast," Giles White, Director of Hampshire Cricket said.