After India and Pakistan's independence from Britain, certain Pashtun tribes such as Mehsud and Afridi from mountainous region of North-West Frontier Province ( NWFP ) of Pakistan, at the instigation of Pakistan and with its collusion, entered the Kashmir valley to capture it.

Pakistani investigators said in a July 2012 report that Dr. Shakil Afridi met 25 times with " foreign secret agents, received instructions and provided sensitive information to them.

" According to Pakistani reports, Dr. Shakil Afridi told investigators that the charity Save the Children helped facilitate his meeting with U. S. intelligence agents although the charity denies the charge.

In June 2004 Afridi signed with English county side Kent to play for them in three Twenty20 matches and one Totesport League match.

In April Afridi struck what at the time was the equal second-fastest century in ODIs ; he reached 100 off 45 deliveries against India, sharing the record with West Indian Brian Lara.

Afridi was more consistent with his batting and bowling throughout 2005, starting with the tours of India and West Indies and through to the England tour.

On 12 April 2006, Afridi announced a temporary retirement from Test cricket so that he could concentrate on ODIs, with a particular focus on the 2007 World Cup, and to spend more time with his family.

Afridi had played ten Tests since being recalled to the side in January 2005, averaging 47. 44 with the bat including four centuries.

In the 2007 World Twenty20, he performed poorly with the bat but brilliantly with the ball, earning the Man of the Series award, though he failed to take a wicket in the final and was out for a golden duck. But in the next ICC Twenty20 World Cup, held in 2009 Afridi performed brilliantly in the series scoring 50 runs in the semi-final and 54 in the final and leading his team to victory.

Shortly after Pakistan won the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 the captain Younis Khan announced his retirement from Twenty20 cricket the Pakistan Cricket Board ( PCB ) subsequently announced that Shahid Afridi had taken over as captain in T20Is ; the appointment was initially for one match, with a decision on the permanent replacement to be made later.

In March 2010 the board announced that Shahid Afridi had been appointed ODI captain in place of the sacked Mohammad Yousuf he led Pakistan in the 2010 Asia Cup and during his first three matches as ODI captain he scored two centuries against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh he finished as the tournaments highest runscorer with 384 runs from 3 matches.

Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace.

In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation ; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.

After beating the West Indies in the quarter-final, with Afridi taking four wickets, Pakistan were knocked out of the semi-finals in a 29-run defeat to India.

Afridi was the tournament's joint-leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, level with India's Zaheer Khan, even though Afridi had played one match less than him.

The coach, Waqar Younis, fell out with Afridi and in his report on the tour criticised Afridi, saying " as a captain he is very immature, has poor discipline, lacks a gameplan and is unwilling to listen to others ' opinions or advice ".

After the series, on 19 May the PCB replaced Afridi as ODI captain with Misbah-ul-Haq for the two-match ODI series against Ireland later that month.

Between 1996 and 2012, Afridi played 27 Tests, 334 One Day Internationals, and 46 Twenty20 Internationals ( T20Is ) for the Pakistani national team.

In October 1996 at the age of sixteen Afridi was drafted into the ODI team during the four-nation Sameer Cup 1996 – 97 as a leg spinner as a replacement for the injured Mushtaq Ahmed.

On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.

Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if " the team needs it ".

Shahid Afridi batting against Sri Lanka national cricket team | Sri Lanka in the ICC World Twenty20 Final at Lord's Cricket Ground | Lord's in England.

Another maligned shot selection in the following ODI series, attempting to reverse sweep Shahid Afridi first ball, resulted in his dismissal from the ODI team, with Katich again promoted.

Afridi during Pakistan's tour of New Zealand in December 2010

During the Jowaki Afridi expedition sent by the British-Indian government during 1877, the heliograph was first tested in war.

After independence, Afridi tribesmen played a leading role in attacking Jammu and Kashmir for Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani war of 1947.

Group of Afridi fighters in 1878, pictured with their jezails, during the Second Afghan War.

* Tribal-class destroyer ( 1936 ) or Afridi class, 27 destroyers built for the navies of the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia that served during World War II

The officials have identified Michael McGrath, an Australian who was Save the Children country director in Pakistan in 2009 as the person who recruited Dr. Shakil Afridi.

In June 2009, Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup.

Afridi later pleaded guilty to a level three breach of the ICC code of conduct relating to the spirit of the game.

Malik was ranked second, behind teammate Shahid Afridi, in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings in June 2008.

The ICC subsequently released a press conference that included the ICC chairman Rafay Malik, Shahid Afridi and Rafay Malik the ICC said that they had been happy with the work done so far by the PCB such as sigining new disciplinary contracts with the players and also placing in security and methods of tackling corruption.

Afridi was given a four-game ODI suspension, the minimum possible ban for such an offence, meaning that he would miss Pakistan's first two 2007 World Cup matches.

When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced no captain was named ; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.

After gaining victory as a captain against New Zealand, the PCB declared Shahid Afridi as Pakistan's captain for the 2011 World Cup.

In Pakistan's opening match of the tournament, Afridi took 5 wickets for 16 runs against Kenya, giving him the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in a World Cup.

The World Twenty20 was followed with the 2010 Asia Cup in which Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka by a narrow-margin as Pakistan's top order collapsed and it was Shahid Afridi who scored 109 to nearly guide Pakistan to victory.

Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 43 matches. Shahid Afridi has signed to play for the Sydney Thunderin Australia ’ s Twenty20 Big Bash league.

Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.

He is the second leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals behind teammate Shahid Afridi