Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi is still considered to be one of the fiercest ball-strikers in cricket. The former right-hander, who burst onto the scene as a teenager, is the only cricketer to hit more than 350 sixes in ODI cricket and his record for the fastest hundred off just 37 balls in 1996 against Kenya stood for a long time before New Zealand's Corey Anderson broke in 2014. As his career progressed, Afridi concentrated more on his leg spin but his ability to hit sixes remained. What was the reason behind it? Legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis said it was because of his incredibly strong hands.
Waqar, who played a lot of cricket with Afridi and also captained the all-rounder, narrated a hilarious incident to indicate the strength in Afridi's hands. Waqar said in a Pakistan tour to India, a prominent Indian minister came to meet them. While all the Pakistan cricketers shook hands with the minister gently, Afridi gave him a hard time with his hard hard shake.
"When Shahid Afridi first arrived. He was only 15 or 16 and very strong at that age. The first time I shook hands with him, I almost ended up sweating, he squeezed it so hard. That's probably one of the reasons why he could hit those huge sixes.
"I still remember... We were on an India tour. I know the name of the Indian minister but I won't take his name. He came to see us and welcomed us. We were all sitting together. He came and we stood up. He met everyone, and greeted us. Afridi was a junior, he was standing in the back. We all shook hands gently as he was an elderly minister. When Afridi's turn came, he shook the hands so hard," Waqar said on A Sports while other panellists Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akram burst into laughter.
Waqar did not specify the tour he was talking about but it does appear to be in 1997. Afridi toured India for the first time as part of the ODI team that year. A couple of years later he played his first Test on Indian soil.
{{/usCountry}}Waqar did not specify the tour he was talking about but it does appear to be in 1997. Afridi toured India for the first time as part of the ODI team that year. A couple of years later he played his first Test on Indian soil.
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