Shaheen Afridi picks 3 Indian batters as part of his "dream hat-trick"

Pakistan’s ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has selected the batters he would want to scalp the wickets off, if ever he would be able to claim a hat-trick in an international match.

Afridi recently won the prestigious Sir Garfield Sobers for ICC Men’s cricketer of the year award for 2021. He took 78 wickets in 36 internationals at an average of 22.20, throughout 2021.

In a rapid-fire interview with ESPN Cricinfo, Afridi was asked about the three batters he wanted to get out for his dream hat-trick.

He replied -

“Rohit [Sharma], KL Rahul and Virat Kohli.”

Incidentally, he got the wickets of the same batters in the high-octane clash against arch-rivals India in the T20I World Cup in October 2021, albeit not in a hat-trick. The speedster got the wickets of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul early in the innings with two beautiful deliveries.

The pacer got Rohit out LBW with a yorker-length in-deeper in the first over of the match. In his next over, he bowled KL Rahul with a peach in-swinging delivery.

Towards the end of the innings, he managed to get the precious wicket of Virat Kohli as well. When asked about his favourite scalp from his career so far, the youngster picked the former India captain.

“Virat Kohli” he said, when asked of the most prized wicket in his career.

The pacer was also asked about the record he wanted at the end of his career.

He said:

“I would like to be number one in all the three formats.”

Afridi claimed 47 wickets in nine Tests during 2021 and that has awarded him a place in the top five in the ICC Test rankings for bowlers. However, he is quite far from the top in the other two formats.

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“I idolize Imran Khan as a fast bowler” – Shaheen Afridi

During the rapid-fire session, the pacer was also asked about the fast bowler he idolizes.

He responded:

“Imran Khan, [current] prime minister of Pakistan.”

The pacer improved his bowling in 2021 and surprised everyone with his skills and speed, especially in the T20 World Cup in Dubai.

The pacer was also asked who was the toughest batter he had to bowl to in his career.

He said -

“Pakistan’s Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam.”

It would be safe to assume that he would be relieved to bowl against them only in the nets, except during the Pakistan Super League.

On a lighter note, he said that Hasan Ali celebrates his wickets better than himself and he would want to bowl to Brian Lara if he could time travel in the past.

Shaheen, in line with the erstwhile Afridi from Pakistan, is also nick-named Lala by his teammates.