Cricket
Shaheen Afridi ditches The Hundred’s Welsh Fire after receiving a £100,000 retention
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Pakistan senior pacer Shaheen Afridi has decided to pull out from this year’s The Hundred tournament in England where he played for the Welsh Fire.
Shaheen Afridi, who was sacked as the white-ball captain in April, was recently in England only for the 2nd stretch of Pakistan’s European tour. The Men in Green first visited Ireland for a 3-match T20I series which they won by 2-1 and then crossed borders to enter the United Kingdon for a 4-match series.
After the 1st T20I got washed out in Headingley, England defeated Pakistan by 23 runs in the 2nd T20I held in Edgbaston.
Then the 3rd T20I also got washed out without a ball bowled and in the 4th match of the series at the Oval, the hosts had come out on top again, winning the series 2-0. In the 2nd match, Shaheen Afridi had scalped figures of 3/36 but he remained wicketless in the series conclusion.
Why Shaheen Afridi is withdrawing from the Hundred 2024 edition?
In the previous Hundred edition (2023), Shaheen Afridi had turned up in 6 matches for the Welsh Fire and quickly became a fan favorite. The tall left-arm pacer made a positive impact for the Wales-based franchise, who were so impressed that they decided to retain his services for the 2024 season.
During the drafts earlier this year, while his Pakistan teammates Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan did not find any suitors, Shaheen Afridi was retained by Welsh Fire. The 24-year-old was retained by the Fire in the £100,000 category and that indicates just how important Afridi is for the team.
However, a report from England’s Telegraph outlet emerged on Saturday morning that Shaheen Afridi might opt out of the Hundred this year. With 52 days left for the competition to start, Shaheen is reportedly planning to feature in the upcoming Canadian Global T20 league.
The GT20 league will coincide with the Hundred this year and Shaheen Afridi is more interested play in Canada than in England. The reason behind this is that the Canadian league is much shorter than the English 100-ball competition.
Therefore, playing the GT20 Canada will give Afridi more time to spend with his family, and this is the biggest reason why he is opposed to featuring in the Hundred. Although there is no confirmation from the bowler’s side the Welsh Fire will soon begin their search for a replacement if the reports are true.
Who are the defending champions of the Hundred?
The Hundred is a very unique competition, ideated by the English Cricket Board to generate viewership, thanks to the 100-ball format. Both the teams only get 100 balls to take set up totals, chase down totals, and pick up all 10 wickets. There are 8 teams in the tournament in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions which runs simultaneously.
Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Super Northern Chargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets and Welsh Fire are the 8 sides. The Oval-based team will enter the competition as the reigning champions as they defeated Manchester in the final in 2023.
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