Baheer Shah averages 121.77 in First-Class cricket.
Australian batting legend Sir Don Bradman’s statistics has always been considered as the benchmark while judging a great batsman of any era. Widely deemed as the greatest batsman ever to play the game, Bradman averages 95.14 in First-Class cricket besides averaging a staggering 99.94 in Test matches.
However, there is a batsman emerged out from Afghanistan who averages more than the great Don. The 18-year-old Baheer Shah recently pushed Bradman into the second spot for the time being with an astonishing average of 121.77.
Baheer grabbed the eyeballs of the cricketing fraternity with his classy 44-run innings in the warm-up match against Bangladesh U-19 side. But it is learnt that the teenager has been doing wonders in Afghanistan’s First-Class circuit for quite some time now.
In his maiden First-Class innings, Baheer Shah played an unbeaten innings of 256 runs which was second highest debut score of all time. Subsequently, he notched up his first triple ton in his fifth innings. The classy batsman will feature in the 12th edition of U-19 World Cup, starting on January 13 in New Zealand.
He was the Best Batsman in the #Abdalifct2017 , is part of the #Afgu19stars playing in ICC #U19CWC.
— Afghan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) January 9, 2018
But did you know he even broke Sir Donald Bradman's record?
Meet one of Afghanistan's #FutureStars, Bahir Shah Mahboob.
https://t.co/yPaVkSUx1C pic.twitter.com/okhpgpKjRt
It takes something special to have a better First Class average than Don Bradman, but Afghanistan's Baheer Shah has just that!https://t.co/gEMtDNpWX3 pic.twitter.com/BBr0UhJ0UB
— ICC (@ICC) January 9, 2018
“That was an unforgettable moment for me. I stayed at the wicket for two days, staying very comfortable. I worked on my fitness before the tournament, and the coaches taught me how to bat well. For everyone whenever they get the best score in their life it’s a very enjoyable, exciting moment,” Baheer was quoted saying by icc-cricket.com.
“It’s difficult to get the opportunity play for our domestic sides, so I’m very thankful for my family and for my friends and my head coach for their support. I only thought I would try my best for my side, so to get 1,000 runs was amazing,” he added.
Ahead of the U-19 World Cup, Baheer slammed a century and a 98 against a strong New Zealand domestic team – Central Districts XI.
“I’ve started very well in the warm-up matches in Napier. They were good sides with first-class players, but we played four matches and won all four. It’s a very good chance for every youngster to promote his career so I’m trying very hard to have a good performance in this World Cup,” Baheer Shah said.
He concluded by talking about his favorite player and his ambitions going forward.
“I like to play in different and challenging situations. There are a lot of changeable situations, but I only want to stay at the wicket and take the pressure on myself and away from my partners. My favourite player is Hashim Amla because he is very calm and plays very well in difficult situations. I just want to keep calm and go forwards,” Baheer signed-off.