Here's How Shahid Afridi Debuted At 16, Played Cricket For 21 Years And Retired At 36!

When Shahid Afridi made his international debut, he was 16, I was 10. When the man called it quits he was 36, I was 30. So till now, the math adds up. But there is more to it than what meets the eye.

Afridi's career has been a roller coaster. Be it his performance, his antics, or his statements, the man has always been in the limelight.

Afridi came on the scene at 16, but the ICC says he was 21

Boom Boom, as he is affectionately known, made his debut in 1996 at the age of just 16. Wait wait, hold on, did I say 16? Well, that opens up a whole new can of worms.

AFP/Dailymotion

If one turns one's attention to the right-side image above, notice the age mentioned in his career stats. It says 21! Yes folks, five years more than what he should have been. Remember this was when he slammed the then-fastest ODI hundred and it was in 1996 in only his second game and first innings.

Mind you, these stats are provided by the ICC and at that moment they showed his age as 21.

The man who never seemed to age even in the numbers

Ok, even if hypothetically speaking we say that it was a goof-up on their part. One undeniable fact is that between 1996 to 2000, Afridi's age never seemed to go above 17. Yes for four years he only got one year older!

AFP

It does not end there, suddenly in 2006 his age sky-rocketed to 26 and stayed stagnant until he celebrated his 32nd birthday in 2012! The curious case of Shahid Afridi perhaps?

So officially he is 42 and on March 1 turned 43.

If one goes by the age recorded in 1996, he should be turning 48! But then again who are we to question Pakistan's star all-rounder?

AFP

What kind of mathematics is this?

The man came as a batsman who could bowl and a decade later became a bowler who could bat. His age is as unclear as his exact role in the team. Somewhere the math does not add up. You can't be 21 in 1996 and be 17 in 2000 after all! What is this reverse aging?

Well, when all is said and done, we can all agree that Afridi's age is just like his cricket - complicated.

AFP

Even after he has left the big stage, the question remains - really how old is Shahid Afridi?

In the last 27 years, I have aged exactly that. But this man has gone to and fro from his teenage to his mid-20s and back only to finish at 43. But if he was actually 21 when he debuted, how can that be?