Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi Biography




Shahid Afridi (Urdu: شاہدآفریدی‎), born Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi also known as Boom Boom Afridi born on 1 March 1980)^[2] is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2012, Afridi played 27 Tests, 350 One Day Internationals, and 59 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for the Pakistani national team. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia. Afridi has played more ODI matches than any other Pakistani cricket player. ^[3]
He is known for his aggressive batting style,^[4] and previously held the record for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries. He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.^[5] Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 350 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is third on the list of leading wicket takers in the Twenty20 format, behind Saeed Ajmal and Umer Gul of Pakistan, taking 73 wickets from 70 matches.^[6] Shahid Afridi has signed to play for Sydney Thunder in Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash league.^[7] In June 2009, Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup. In May 2011, having led Pakistan in 34 ODIs, Afridi was replaced as captain. Later that month he announced his conditional retirement from international cricket in protest against his treatment by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). However, in October he reversed his decision. UNICEF and Pakistani authorities have taken Shahid Afridi on board for its anti-polio campaign in the tribal belt of lawless Waziristan region.^[8]

International career

 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.^[10] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya, however he didn't bat and went wicketless.^[11] In the next match against Sri Lanka, Afridi batted at number three in the role of a pinch-hitter. In his first international innings, Afridi broke the record for fastest century in ODI cricket, reaching his hundred from 37 balls. The eleven sixes he struck also equaled the record for most in an ODI innings.

Captaincy (2009–2011)

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.^[42] On 31 January 2010, Afridi was caught on camera biting into the ball towards the end of the 5th Commonwealth Bank ODI series in Australia.^[43] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.^[44]
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.
On 25 May 2010, Afridi was appointed captain of the national team in all three formats, after he announced his return to Test cricket.<sup>[45]

Playing Style</sup>

Batting

His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the seven fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them.^[84] As of May 2013, he has an ODI strike rate of 114.53 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game's history.^[85] This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.97.
He hits many sixes long and high, favouring straight down the ground or over midwicket and hit the longest ever six in the history of ODIs against Australia. His trademark shot is a cross-batted flick to the leg-side to a ball outside off stump. However, his aggressive style increases his risk of getting out and he is one of the most inconsistent batsmen in cricket. This is reflected by the fact that he is the only player to score more than 7,000 ODI runs at an average under 25.^[86]Afridi is the only player in the world who has scored 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in the T20 format of the game.^[87] Afridi has moved about the batting order, and this lack of consistency has made it difficult for him to settle. In the Indian subcontinent, where the ball quickly loses its shine, he prefers to open the batting however elsewhere he prefers to bat at number six.^[88]

Bowling

Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after he was told he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir.^[2] Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman.^[88] While he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls.^[89] He has over 350 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a "quicker one" which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer, reaching speeds of around 130 km/h (81 mph).^[90] He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.

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