Dhaka, Nov 20 (IANS): One of the most prolific and prospective bowlers of Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi has become the joint-leading wicket-taker in the Powerplay in T20s since 2020. He was once again exceptional with the new ball, striking in the first over of the innings against Bangladesh.

Afridi shares the lead with England's Samit Patel who also has taken 32 wickets in Powerplay since 2020.

A left-arm orthodox spinner and an attacking lower middle-order batsman, Samit Patel is now playing for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.

With 31 wickets in his kitty, New Zealand pacer Trent Boult is in the third position while Afgha'istan's Mujeeb Ur Rahman is 4th with 30 wickets in Powerplay since 2020.

An elated Pakistan skipper Babar Azam spoke highly of left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi in the post-match presentation after registering a historic 10-wicket win against India in their T20 World Cup 2021 opening match in Dubai.

In the T20 World Cup match against India, Afridi took the game by storm after dismissing Rohit Sharma for a first-ball duck. He then came back in the next over to get rid of KL Rahul.

After the match, Azam spoke highly of the left-arm pacer. "He is a class bowler. He has the ability to take early wickets that gave us a lot of confidence," he said.

Earlier a superb Test series against the West Indies has moved Afridi into the top-10 of the ICC Test Bowling rankings for the first time.

Climbing 10 spots to make his entry, Afridi is the highest-ranked Pakistan bowler in the new rankings -- eighth with 783 points.

Afridi, the left-arm quick picked up 18 wickets across the two Tests, seven more than the next-best bowler, Jayden Seales of the West Indies. Taking eight wickets in the first Test, Afridi went on to claim career-best match figures of 10/94 in the second match, spearheading Pakistan's charge to a 109-run victory at Sabina Park.