Lahore
Let’s be honest. When it comes to Pakistan cricket, Imran Khan and Shahid Afridi are the two names that pop into our head without a thought.
The 1992 World Cup winner and current prime minister and “Boom Boom” Afridi were not only popular on the field, but the two also make quite the pair off field.
The duo, who have amassed millions of fans and followers, have been voted as the most popular all-rounder pair as part of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Dream Team campaign.
The campaign, which has attracted around 800k social media followers, includes current and former cricketers, fans, journalists and cricket pundits who vote for their favourite pair of cricketers.
In its most recent poll, the majority expressed their desire to watch Khan, the prime minister and former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, in an imaginary pairing with Afridi together on a cricket field in a longer format of the game.
An Afridi-Razzaq duo and Imran-Razzaq imaginary pairing were on the second and third rank on the popularity scale in the poll for a dream all-rounder pair.
Earlier, Aamir Sohail – Saeed Anwar, Younus Khan – Mohammad Yousaf, Wasim Akram – Waqar Younis and Late Abdul Qadir – Saqlain Mushtaq pairings had been ranked most popular dream pairs in the opening, middle order, fast bowlers and spinners respectively
Earlier, The two-prominent Pakistani all-rounders of the 90s and early 2000s Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood have picked Imran Khan as their partners during Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Digital Pairs series.
The series, which entered its fifth phase on Thursday, has garnered immense popularity among the fans, current and former players, pundits and journalists. The followers were asked to name two all-rounders of their choice.
Azhar, who represented Pakistan in 21 Tests scoring 900 runs and collecting 39 wickets, recalled that he started playing cricket inspired by the legendary captain and all-rounder Imran Khan.
Azhar Mahmood said: “I would like to make my dream pair with Imran Khan as I started playing cricket inspired by him. Imran was a hero for me and my favourite cricketer. Among the present lot of bowlers, I choose Shaheen Shah Afridi; I know his capabilities well having worked with him closely [as bowling coach].
“Among batsmen, I choose Babar Azam as my batting partner, he is an exceptional timer and I have seen some special innings played by him from the dressing room during my stint with the national team as bowling coach.” —Agencies
