Born on March 1, 1980, and hailing from a Pashtun family, he belongs to the Afridi tribe of the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in the north of Pakistan.

He has 27 Tests, 334 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and 46 Twenty20s behind him. His ODI debut came against Sri Lanka on October 2, 1996 while he made his Test debut against Australia on October 22, 1998.

Afridi has other feathers in his cap holding the record for the fastest ODI century in his first international innings, scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest in an ODI, and hitting the most sixes in ODIs.

His fans wish him a very happy 33rd.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2013