Shahid Afridi started off as a pacer!

Shahid Afridi, who scored the second fastest century ever on Friday, had started out as a pace bowler, says his Karachi club boss.

Shahid Afridi, who on Friday scored the second fastest century ever, had started out as a pace bowler and batted lower down the order, says the man for whose club the Pathan plays in Karachi.

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"He was initially a pace bowler for my club and batted at No. 6 or 7," Syed Mohammed Ali Shah, who owns AO Club, said.

Afridi, who also holds the world record for the fastest century, used to visit the club with his elder brother Tariq, who also played for the club regularly.

"We used to ask Afridi to only field for a few overs during matches," recalled Shah, an orthopaedic surgeon by profession. "Later, he started bowling pace and batted lower down the order."

About Afridi's hitting prowess, Shah said it was God's gift to him.

"All his power comes from his solid wrists. He has solid wrists like (former Pakistan batsman) Zaheer Abbas," Shah maintained.

Shah said Afridi, who scored 102 off just 46 balls, always liked to play his shots and score quick runs. He scored the world's fastest one-day century off 37 balls against Sri Lanka at Nairobi in a triangular tournament in 1997.

Shah also related an incident during last year's Ramzan tournament, 20-over-per-innings matches played under floodlights.

"Afridi was batting in the same vein as he batted here and was not aware of his score," he recalled. "He suddenly walked out. When told that he was on 98, he said that he was feeling very hot and couldn't bat anymore," Shah added.

"He played about 35 or 36 balls for his 98," said Shah, who has his roots in Lucknow.