LONDON: Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has elected former Pakistani captains Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan as Honorary Life Members of the Club.
Honorary Life Membership is awarded to some of the finest cricketers and men and women associated with the game, and the pair make it three players from Pakistan to be awarded Honorary Life Membership this year, following Misbah-ul-Haq who was awarded the same honour in July.
There are also 22 previous Pakistani players on the list including icons such as Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Javed Miandad and Ramiz Raja.
Afridi scored over 8,000 runs and took 395 wickets in 398 One-Day internationals for Pakistan, including a 37-ball century in his first innings as a 16 year-old, which stood as a record in ODI cricket until 2014.
The 37 year-old also played 98 T20 Internationals, scoring 1,405 runs and 27 Test Matches, in which he made 1,716 runs. His unbeaten 54 in the World T20 final at Lord’s in 2009, when he was Man of the Match, helped his side to win the tournament for the first time.
Younis played 118 Test Matches for Pakistan, scoring over 10,000 runs and averaging 52.05 in a 17-year period. The 39 year-old retired at the end of the series with West Indies earlier this year, and is one of only four Pakistani batsman to have scored a Test match triple century.
He also played 265 One-Day Internationals for his country, scoring 7,249 runs at an average of 31.24, and also made 442 runs in 25 International T20 matches, but more importantly in the shortest format, led Pakistan to the World T20 title in 2009, defeating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s.
MCC Head of Cricket John Stephenson said: “It is fitting that these two players from Pakistan have been awarded Honorary Life Membership of MCC.
“Younis Khan is one of a select number of batsmen to have scored 10,000 Test runs which is a fine record that speaks for itself, but it was the graceful way in which he made those runs that was so eye-catching to the spectator.
“Shahid Afridi is one of the most exciting and ground-breaking all-rounders to have played international cricket, and with bat or ball he made compelling viewing.” - Samaa
