Shahid Khan Afridi is a 36-year-old cricketer who still plays like he is 16. Nicknamed “Boom Boom,” the fan favorite still has the power to change a match’s situation with both bat and the ball.

In Pakistan, when young boys play street cricket, they all pretend they are the Afridi of their team. And after every wicket, or a winning shot, they all tend to celebrate like Afridi by imitating his signature pose with their hands up in the air.

Throughout the Pakistani’s 20 year career, he has proven himself a blessing for his nation and a nightmare for rivals. 

On April 3, Afridi announced he is not retiring from international cricket, but rather stepping down from his role as captain of Pakistan’s national team to focus on his role as a player.

Known for crowd-pulling, Afridi helped Pakistan win the International Cricket World T20 Cup for the first time in 2009. 

“I can hit Shahid Afridi six sixes in an over, but I know when he is going to hit six sixes in my over then the response of the crowd will be something different,” West Indies cricket player Chris Gayle said.

But Afridi’s fan following is not just based in Pakistan. Admiration for the player has spread worldwide. 

Whenever Afridi enters the ground, he gets everyone on their toes, including his opponents. 

Afridi entertains the crowd by coming down the track on almost every delivery and scaring the bowler since whenever Afridi is half way down the pitch it has to be a maximum.

At age 16, Afridi debuted in his first One Day Internationals (ODI) match against Kenya on Oct. 2, 1996. He didn’t bat and went wicketless. In his next match against Sri Lanka, he batted at number three.  

In Afridi’s first international inning he scored a record, the fastest century off 37 balls. His century consisted of 11 sixes, which equalled another record of hitting the most sixes in an inning. With the fastest century, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century according to Sporteology.

“Even after hitting six sixes, I can’t even come close to Afridi’s fame,” Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh said.

He is one of the top 15 players to hit the fastest century. Afridi has his name printed thrice, 37 ball 102 runs, 45 ball 102 runs and 53 balls 124 runs.

Afridi also rules the board for fastest half-centuries. He has scored the third fastest half-century on 18 deliveries and he has done this three times of 18 balls, one time of 19 balls, two times of 20 balls, 3 times of 21 balls and 1 time of 22 balls. With that, he has the highest strike rate, 116.26, in ODI cricket history for a player who has scored 1,000 or more runs.

He is known as a six machine for hitting the most number of sixes in International Career. He has hit 445 sixes. He also carries the record of getting the most Man of the Match awards for any Pakistani, making him third in the world.

“My sons say ‘We don’t wanna be a leg spinner like you,’” former Australian cricketer Shane Warne said. “‘We wanna be like Boom Boom Afridi.’”

Stats show that if hitting six is an art, then Shahid Afridi is the Picasso of cricket.

Similarly, Sachin Tendulkar, nicknamed “the Godfather of cricket,” has had positive things to say about the player. “Shahid Afridi is fire for us,” Tendulkar said.

Among his many records, Afridi is titled to be the only player to score a fifty and for taking five wickets in a game on three separate occasions. Afridi also carries the record of second best bowling record in cricket history for taking seven wickets for just 12 runs.

Afridi is also known to be a charitable athlete. 

He has a non-profit foundation named, “Hope Not-Out” where he helps those in Pakistan by providing healthcare, education and sports facilities.

Whenever the Pakistan national team is struggling with their batting line up, cricket fans say, “Afridi is here, say no to fear.”