Shahid Afridi is under fire for his viral “Maxwell” comment, which mocked Iftikhar: “He most certainly possesses the ability”
When five-time winners Australia faced the Netherlands in match No. 25 of the ICC World Cup 2023 on Wednesday, it was all out mayhem from Glenn Maxwell. As the seasoned opener David Warner achieved a record-breaking century, powerful batsman Maxwell destroyed the Dutch team by hitting the quickest century in ICC World Cup history. Maxwell’s stunning innings won him praise from the cricket community as a whole. Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi praised the Australian superstar in a notable remark.
The former Pakistani all-rounder praised Maxwell on X, the old name of Twitter, for his remarkable knock at the biggest stage of them all—the ICC World Cup. It’s interesting to note that Afridi also criticized Iftikhar Ahmed, a rising star from Pakistan who would be playing a Maxwell-like role for Babar Azam and company during the World Cup in India. “What an innings by @GlenMaxwell today, a display of incredible power hitting, and Australia deserves to win!” We all need you to step up now for #CWC2023, Afridi said. “I expect Iftikhar Ahmad to play a similar role for our team; he definitely has the capability to do so and the pitches are curated for power hitting.”
Many Pakistani supporters criticized Afridi for passing over the all-rounder while serving as the Green Army’s temporary top selector. Last year, Afridi was appointed Pakistan’s top selector in an acting capacity. During his brief tenure, Afridi’s committee, consisting of three members, examined Pakistan’s Test team. Additionally, the former cricket player chose not to include Ahmed on the white-ball lineup for the New Zealand series.
Speaking about the just finished match between Australia and the Netherlands, Maxwell smashed the record for the quickest century in ICC World Cup history in only forty balls. Maxwell broke the mark established by South Africa’s Aiden Markram in the current ICC World Cup.
In Delhi, the Proteas’ temporary captain struck a century off of 49 balls against Sri Lanka. At the same location on Wednesday, three weeks later, Maxwell broke Markram’s record, taking the stage by storm. In One Day Internationals (ODIs), Maxwell also holds the record for the quickest century by an Australian. Shahid Afridi (37), Corey Anderson (36) and AB de Villiers (31), are the only players who have taken less balls for an ODI century than Maxwell.
