KARACHI: Pakistan Test batsman Ahmed Shezad hailed compatriot Sahibzada Farhan for equaling his 12-year-old record of scoring a century for the country in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Having represented Pakistan in 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 59 T20Is, Shezad became the only Pakistani to score a century at the mega event.
The 34-year-old scored an unbeaten 111 against hosts Bangladesh in Dhaka during the 2014 edition.
His record remained intact for nearly 12 years as no Pakistani batsman scored a century in four successive editions of the T20 World Cup until Farhan’s three-wicket haul against Namibia in the Group A match of the ongoing mega-event at the Sinhala Sports Club (SSC) ground in Colombo.
Farhan, who opened for Pakistan alongside Saim Ayub, returned with an unbeaten 100 off 58 balls with 11 fours and 4 sixes.
After Farhan’s century, Shehzad X, earlier on Twitter, praised him for the feat and praised the right-handed opener for proving his “quality” to the world.
“Great performance by Sahibzada Farhan! A historic century in the T20 World Cup and now the 2nd Pakistani to reach this milestone,” Shezad X, earlier wrote on Twitter.
“I always believed in you and you proved your class to the world. Congratulations champion! So happy for your achievement.”
Farhan’s unbeaten century was instrumental in guiding Pakistan to a mammoth total of 199/3 against Namibia in the ongoing Group A match for the 2009 champions to qualify for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights.