Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has expressed profound grief and sorrow over the tragic passing of former Afghan fast bowler Shapoor Zadran. The 38-year-old pioneer of Afghanistan cricket breathed his last on Tuesday at a hospital in New Delhi after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Reacting to the heartbreaking news, Afridi shared a deeply moving message on social media, writing: “Surely we belong to Allah and to Him we shall return”. Paying a glowing tribute to the late cricketer, Afridi added, “Dear Shapoor! You will always live on in our hearts. May Almighty Allah shower His mercy upon you and grant you the highest rank in Jannat-ul-Firdaus”.
Reflecting on Zadran’s heritage, Afridi remarked that while death is inevitable for every human being, the honor and dignity of a Pashtun never die. “Death may separate the body from us, but the Pashtun social code of life lives on forever,” he stated.
Shapoor Zadran was a key figure in his country’s early cricketing journey, representing Afghanistan in 44 One Day Internationals (ODIs) and 36 T20 Internationals. The former left-arm paceman is fondly remembered for playing a defining role in Afghanistan’s historic first-ever ICC Cricket World Cup victory against Scotland in 2015, where he famously hit the winning runs to seal a memorable triumph.
