The Melbourne Renegades batsmen had their way with him, feasting for 43 runs off just 16 balls.
But ultimately it was the umpires who had the final say as Pakistani paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi was unceremoniously removed from the attack for dangerous bowling in the Brisbane Heat’s opening match of BBL|15.
Making his highly-anticipated Big Bash debut, Afridi had a night to forget in more ways than one.
Having been carted for 28 runs from his first two overs thanks in large part to Renegades opener Tim Seifert—en route to 102 off just 56 balls—Afridi’s third over proved the most dramatic of all.
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After sending down multiple high full tosses in the 18th over of the Renegades’ innings, a chest high no ball to batsman Ollie Peake left the umpires with no choice but to remove the left-armer from the attack.
“That’s two above waist high, so he’s not allowed to bowl anymore,” Adam Gilchrist explained in commentary for Fox Cricket.
“I reckon he’s getting dragged here,” Brett Lee agreed.
Hands on hips, Afridi reluctantly accepted his fate from the umpires with a look of embarrassed disbelief on his face.
To cap a truly forgettable night, Afridi was later bowled by Gurinder Sandhu for a duck as the Heat lost to the Renegades by 14 runs.
The Heat play their second BBL|15 match against the Perth Scorchers on Friday night at the Gabba.
Wow.
— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 15, 2025
On his BBL debut, Shaheen Afridi has been removed from the attack! #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/IhDLsKFfJi