Shaheen Afridi is arguably the most lethal powerplay operator in the world with the ball but in Lahore Qalandars’ PSL game against Quetta Gladiators found himself making an impact with the bat during the first six overs of the innings.

After Quetta’s bowling attack reduced Lahore to 28-4 in the sixth over, Shaheen – the Lahore captain – promoted himself to No. 6 despite boasting a career T20 batting average of 7.41 and a strike-rate of almost exactly 100.

The rationale behind Shaheen’s self-promotion was not immediately clear but given the manner in which Shaheen batted – he looked to attack hard – it is likely that his role was to ensure that Lahore retained their attacking approach without risking the loss of any further recognised batters.

The move didn’t completely backfire. Shaheen finished with 16 – the highest score among Lahore’s top six – and his total included one destructive cover drive for four. His innings also ensured that the entry points for lower order hitters Sikandar Raza and Rashid Khan came later on in the innings.

However, it ended in somewhat farcical fashion, Shaheen reverse-sweeping straight to short third, setting off for a run anyway, and then finding himself short of his crease as the throw came in.

You can watch Shaheen’s cover drive for four and his dismissal below:

Related tags:

Shaheen AfridiVideosGlobal T20 Leagues