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How can die-hard Shahid Afridi fans defend these stats?

please discuss

and tell me

how this guys could be regarded as ATG
when he is not even a half decent player
 
what shahid afridi exactly was??

how he manage to survive for two decades with these stats n this performance??
 
No body is saying he is an all time great. In fact he is not even among the 2nd tear greatest crickets that played the game.

But he was an entertainer and people loved him for that rather than his stats or numbers.
 
hafizexpress said:
View attachment 77353
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1) fastest century
this record broken long long time back

2)youngest to score a century
we all know his real age

3)4th and 7th fastest century
his total odi centuries are 6 out of 400 odis he played

4)most sixes in odi
even after playing 400.....is it really a record??

5)most man of the match awards
exclude minnows and its hardly 20 out of 400 odis

6) 32 runs in an over
playing one good over is an achievement???

6)highest t20 wickets
thats an achievement

7)3rd most five wicket hauls
exclude minnows and weak oppositions then talk

8) 3rd highest wicket taker for pakistan
but with worst average and less wicket than matches

9)took 350 + wickets
but in near 400 odis with less wicket than matches

10) 1 out of 11 to take 300 wickets
how many times u will repeat same point

11)first player to play 50 T20
playing more matches is achievement????
 
Ahmad Shah said:
1) fastest century
this record broken long long time back

2)youngest to score a century
we all know his real age

3)4th and 7th fastest century
his total odi centuries are 6 out of 400 odis he played

4)most sixes in odi
even after playing 400.....is it really a record??

5)most man of the match awards
exclude minnows and its hardly 20 out of 400 odis

6) 32 runs in an over
playing one good over is an achievement???

6)highest t20 wickets
thats an achievement

7)3rd most five wicket hauls
exclude minnows and weak oppositions then talk

8) 3rd highest wicket taker for pakistan
but with worst average and less wicket than matches

9)took 350 + wickets
but in near 400 odis with less wicket than matches

10) 1 out of 11 to take 300 wickets
how many times u will repeat same point

11)first player to play 50 T20
playing more matches is achievement????
Click to expand...

:))) :))) :))) My man is on fire.
 
I know I've got in trouble by pointing this out before but Afridi's career is the prime example of superstar culture trumping common cricketing sense, I've seen it a lot of times here in India and Afridi's case seems no different, except the the fact that instead of people lingering on for 3-4 years on their past laurels and their marketing value towards the fag end of their careers, Afridi hung on for almost 20 years.. which is absolute bonkers.

Just imagine the countless no of matches where Pakistan were basically playing with 10 players because one particular player couldn't do away with his urge to slog blindly. Sure he had his moments but it's absolutely embarrassing to a player of such (non) caliber hung on to the team for 2 decades.
 
Afridi wasn’t about stats he was a pure entertainer and kept the game of cricket interesting amongst casual viewers and probably Pakistani women.. He wasn’t by any means a great player technically but he had his impact and played a pivotal part in helping you win WC..

I think he should be drafted back in the Pakistani national team for one final run till 2019 WC.. Would be fun both on and off the field..
 
Afridi is beyond stats. He is the classic example of the impact he had on the game during the time he played. He will never be forgotten and will get equal mileage in retirement that he did as a player. He is by no means an all time great in terms of statistics in any format but without a doubt he has been the most commercially successful Pakistani Cricketer of all times in terms of commercials, attention, adulation, side businesses and how effortlessly he is running his NGO.

You can play the game for stats, be regarding as a legendary cricketer and then be forgotten after retirement or not be an all time great or great player at all in terms of statistics but end up making the most $$$ out of your playing days and still cashing in on your popularity after retirement.

Afridi has had a successful career in terms of $$$, he could care less about being a cricketing great or not being a cricketing great but he knows he will never be forgotten and that he has been very successful in elevating his and his family's lifestyle big time and has now provided a big platform for his kids and future generations to do well in life.
 
big_gamer007 said:
Afridi wasn’t about stats he was a pure entertainer and kept the game of cricket interesting amongst casual viewers and probably Pakistani women.. He wasn’t by any means a great player technically but he had his impact and played a pivotal part in helping you win WC..

I think he should be drafted back in the Pakistani national team for one final run till 2019 WC.. Would be fun both on and off the field..
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You really don't want Pakistan to win the World Cup right??:))
 
I haven't met anyone in my life who called Afridi an ATG.

There is no doubt that Afridi was a very good utility player who could contribute in all three disciplines.
 
Guess you're missing Afridi-Dose!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsshxRHkBVs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BobDjZcxim8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aLvgyJrgs8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uHI0ioQyDQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1kbWLIYKiw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwpPZCJl6_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-Pxk1gRsM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GMcRkkKVPg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAOIMriulDg

Now minus ATG, find me videos of a Pakistani having that many single-handed match winning performances.

P.S. I am not an Afridi fan, but this is what he was famous for, its not the consistency, its the magic he spewed once in a while.
 
They come and go but Afridi is gonna stay in everyone's memories just for this:
giphy.jpg
 
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maxamax said:
Guess you're missing Afridi-Dose!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsshxRHkBVs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BobDjZcxim8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aLvgyJrgs8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uHI0ioQyDQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1kbWLIYKiw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwpPZCJl6_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-Pxk1gRsM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GMcRkkKVPg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAOIMriulDg

Now minus ATG, find me videos of a Pakistani having that many single-handed match winning performances.

P.S. I am not an Afridi fan, but this is what he was famous for, its not the consistency, its the magic he spewed once in a while.
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Agree with the magic
Those few moments he gave us are worth a lot, looks like some people would rather lose
 
From now on I will consider Afridi first tier ATG by looking at the amount of hate he gets even after entertaining crowds for 2 decades
 
Those stats are cherry-picked.

For example I can say Afridi has the highest strike rate among batsmen with 8000+ runs. I know this without even going to statsguru.

Stats don't mean much without explanation.
 
Savak said:
Afridi is beyond stats. He is the classic example of the impact he had on the game during the time he played. He will never be forgotten and will get equal mileage in retirement that he did as a player. He is by no means an all time great in terms of statistics in any format but without a doubt he has been the most commercially successful Pakistani Cricketer of all times in terms of commercials, attention, adulation, side businesses and how effortlessly he is running his NGO.

You can play the game for stats, be regarding as a legendary cricketer and then be forgotten after retirement or not be an all time great or great player at all in terms of statistics but end up making the most $$$ out of your playing days and still cashing in on your popularity after retirement.

Afridi has had a successful career in terms of $$$, he could care less about being a cricketing great or not being a cricketing great but he knows he will never be forgotten and that he has been very successful in elevating his and his family's lifestyle big time and has now provided a big platform for his kids and future generations to do well in life.
Click to expand...

In other words, he is the Kevin Nash of cricket. Except that Pak fans loved him, and still does.
 
Ahmad Shah said:
what important thing exactly afridi stats hide??

how this mediocre and brainless player manage to play for two decades??
Click to expand...

You are not showing SR...which is CRUCIAL for limited overs.

Afridi's 23 is much more useful than many players 40, because he scored so fast, and they so slow. For example 23 at SR of 125 is better than 40 @ SR of 68 or 70 (Ganguly, Dravid etc).

Also, he did it as both batsman and bowler. When you are a true all-rounder, even total failure in one discipline and success in another is not such a bad thing.
 
Savak said:
Afridi is beyond stats. He is the classic example of the impact he had on the game during the time he played. He will never be forgotten and will get equal mileage in retirement that he did as a player. He is by no means an all time great in terms of statistics in any format but without a doubt he has been the most commercially successful Pakistani Cricketer of all times in terms of commercials, attention, adulation, side businesses and how effortlessly he is running his NGO.

You can play the game for stats, be regarding as a legendary cricketer and then be forgotten after retirement or not be an all time great or great player at all in terms of statistics but end up making the most $$$ out of your playing days and still cashing in on your popularity after retirement.

Afridi has had a successful career in terms of $$$, he could care less about being a cricketing great or not being a cricketing great but he knows he will never be forgotten and that he has been very successful in elevating his and his family's lifestyle big time and has now provided a big platform for his kids and future generations to do well in life.
Click to expand...

More than that, it's a deficit of people using the wrong sort of stats and not understanding which stats improve the team's chance of winning and which don't.
 
Proactive_ said:
I know I've got in trouble by pointing this out before but Afridi's career is the prime example of superstar culture trumping common cricketing sense, I've seen it a lot of times here in India and Afridi's case seems no different, except the the fact that instead of people lingering on for 3-4 years on their past laurels and their marketing value towards the fag end of their careers, Afridi hung on for almost 20 years.. which is absolute bonkers.

Just imagine the countless no of matches where Pakistan were basically playing with 10 players because one particular player couldn't do away with his urge to slog blindly. Sure he had his moments but it's absolutely embarrassing to a player of such (non) caliber hung on to the team for 2 decades.
Click to expand...

Boss, you don't understand limited overs. Future generations will wish they had a player like him. Ever notice how he is THE template of what T20 franchises want. A huge hitter who can reliably bowl out his quota. That's why even at 38 (nominally)...he is sought after by franchises who actually use stats and numbers.


Pakistan has a history of batsmen who have left you playing with not 10, but 5 or 6 batsmen because they ate up so many deliveries. Chief was Misbah, but Younus, Asad Shafiq etc all find mentions here.

And this is not even going into the fact that he was good enough as a bowler alone.
 
Ahmad Shah said:
1) fastest century
this record broken long long time back

2)youngest to score a century
we all know his real age

3)4th and 7th fastest century
his total odi centuries are 6 out of 400 odis he played

4)most sixes in odi
even after playing 400.....is it really a record??

5)most man of the match awards
exclude minnows and its hardly 20 out of 400 odis

6) 32 runs in an over
playing one good over is an achievement???

6)highest t20 wickets
thats an achievement

7)3rd most five wicket hauls
exclude minnows and weak oppositions then talk

8) 3rd highest wicket taker for pakistan
but with worst average and less wicket than matches

9)took 350 + wickets
but in near 400 odis with less wicket than matches

10) 1 out of 11 to take 300 wickets
how many times u will repeat same point

11)first player to play 50 T20
playing more matches is achievement????
Click to expand...

Why not just exclude everything??

Why pretend to look at CV but cut out everything or provide ridiculous logics for why it doesn't matter.
 
aloo paratha said:
You really don't want Pakistan to win the World Cup right??:))
Click to expand...



On the contrary my friend I want Afridi to play MOS type tournament where he takes Pakistan to the finals against India where India needs 2 runs off last ball to win and Afridi drops a dolly and batsman run two and win the WC for India..

The explosion on PP would be catastrophic, might take down the site..
 
There are some glaring stats for Afridi which tells us that a great crime was commuted in Pakistan cricket.
Utterly outrageous.

Forget ATG the man’s stats actually prove how he managed to keep out youngsters from the side for so many matches over such a long time... To make matters worse he was the one to say, whilst he was captain, that there is not enough talent in Pakistan to replace him.

I’m convinced that Pakistan Cricket, just like our own country, would have done a lot better with the right personnel on board..
 
big_gamer007 said:
on the contrary my friend i want afridi to play mos type tournament where he takes pakistan to the finals against india where india needs 2 runs off last ball to win and afridi drops a dolly and batsman run two and win the wc for india..

The explosion on pp would be catastrophic, might take down the site..
Click to expand...

wow!
 
DRsohail said:
it was RAzzler and UMAR GUl who did the damage..AFRIDI just took away credit for other job...he should have done it in semi against sri in 2012 when the conditions were tough.
Click to expand...

Ok, if getting MoM in Semis and the Final is just "taking away credit" I hope more of our future players do it too.
 
Hadi Rizvi said:
Ok, if getting MoM in Semis and the Final is just "taking away credit" I hope more of our future players do it too.
Click to expand...

Let say ok he did but a T20 performance does not make him a good odi player.everone knows he was a gun t20 player..but i am again of the opinion that he was nothing special in T20 finals...can u see his ducks in 2007 finals and 2012 semis???/
 
DRsohail said:
Let say ok he did but a T20 performance does not make him a good odi player.everone knows he was a gun t20 player..but i am again of the opinion that he was nothing special in T20 finals...can u see his ducks in 2007 finals and 2012 semis???/
Click to expand...

Bro he was Man of the Series in 2007 WT20. I think that alone explains a lot. Yes I agree he was poor with the bat in WT20 2012 but he was doing his job with the ball.
 
Hadi Rizvi said:
Bro he was Man of the Series in 2007 WT20. I think that alone explains a lot. Yes I agree he was poor with the bat in WT20 2012 but he was doing his job with the ball.
Click to expand...

He was playing as an all rounder if i am not wrong.just come with few MOM and MOS to defend his fluky performances.
now lets come to his format where he played 400 matches.
 
CricketAnalyst said:
Why not just exclude everything??

Why pretend to look at CV but cut out everything or provide ridiculous logics for why it doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

So u r trying to convince that minnow bashing should be consider as an achievement ?? Taking five wickets haul against Namibia canada Kenya Zimbabwe and old n weak Bangladesh of 2000s should be counted as it's a big deal and great achievement.
I have the right to ask
Forget fivers how many four wicket haul he got against India south Africa Australia England n new Zealand
 
The funniest part is that sahibzada shahid khan afridi was convinced after the debacle of 2016 T20 world cup that he can still continue to play for another two years on the pretext that team needs him
Lets not forget he was forcefully retired by PCB . I salute shaharyar khan for taking this courageous decision that enough is enough. We already have had enough in 20 years its time to kick him out
 
DRsohail said:
He was playing as an all rounder if i am not wrong.just come with few MOM and MOS to defend his fluky performances.
now lets come to his format where he played 400 matches.
Click to expand...

I wonder why top teams like AUS, ENG, IND, NZ, SA etc used to have long discussions of bowling plans and field placing for a fluke all-rounder coming in at 6/7/8.
 
Hadi Rizvi said:
I wonder why top teams like AUS, ENG, IND, NZ, SA etc used to have long discussions of bowling plans and field placing for a fluke all-rounder coming in at 6/7/8.
Click to expand...

Every one does,they even do it agaisnt Sohail Tanvir so what do u wanna say.Any professional team will do it unlike Afridid who will bat with wild swing every time.
 
Can anyone remember performance of this superstar in odi world cup 2015
After mohali it's quarter final against Australia which hurts me the most
And i was hoping may be today he will do something but again still he played his trademark brailess slog shot to throw his wicket


Wicket is a precious thing . U can't carelessly throw it as if its a piece of crap
 
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Retirement of shahid afridi is the best thing that has happen to Pakistan cricket in recent times
Now we can hope for a new dawn
 
Boom Boom Afridi is beyond stats :afridi

Mere numbers don't define true legends :srt
 
Just imagine how boring Pakistani cricket would have been without him in the Misbah era? He was one of the very few guys left who were exciting to watch.
 
Even tailenders, both from Pakistan and other teams, took and played with more responsibility than him. I still can't believe he retired from Test cricket in the middle of a series that too while his was appointed the captain of the team, a post that he accepted in the first place. Can anything else be more irresponsible from an international cricketer? Talent and ability can take a backseat in international cricket (although he had neither) if you're such an irresponsible character.
 
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His bowling was brilliant till he could drift it. Was very effective in all ICC tournaments as a bowler between 2007 and 2012.

Age caught up with him and back problems, etc, caused his bowling to go downhill, when he became a burden for the team.

His batting (and fielding) was just bonus.

However captaincy was mediocre all through, except that he had more active presence on the field and was more involved with the bowlers than Misbah/Azhar/Malik/Yousuf, etc were
 
Afridi did have supreme talents, great hand-eye coordination, strongly built (being a pathan helped), very skillful with the bowl, had an aura of dominance with the ball, etc.

Though he did not have the best captaincy/coaching to bring out the best in him. Was never properly utilised as a bowler by Inzi, his batting was wasted down the order in LOIs, was never made to have enough rest between series during Misbah's time when clearly he had dodgy back and should have said no to t20 leagues/county, etc.

Though he has done enough to give good memories to the nation, few may they be.
 
KyoOne said:
Afridi did have supreme talents, great hand-eye coordination, strongly built (being a pathan helped), very skillful with the bowl, had an aura of dominance with the ball, etc.

Though he did not have the best captaincy/coaching to bring out the best in him. Was never properly utilised as a bowler by Inzi, his batting was wasted down the order in LOIs, was never made to have enough rest between series during Misbah's time when clearly he had dodgy back and should have said no to t20 leagues/county, etc.

Though he has done enough to give good memories to the nation, few may they be.
Click to expand...

He has Captain himself for a good period of time.
 
UN talkz said:
He has Captain himself for a good period of time.
Click to expand...

Was never an astute captain in any format. I've mentioned that above.

Someone who could have motivated him proactively and made better decisions for himself was needed to bring the best out of him.

Anyways, the point was Afridi was a huge underachiever given his talents, perhaps the most underachieving sportsperson of Pakistan cricket ever
 
Afridi has a big fanbase because of his personality and the entertainment he gave.
 
I don’t like Afridi at all.The very epitome of mediocrity with some flash in the pan performances that made his fans happy.

I can never forgive Afridi for his performance in the 2007 WT20 final.He got MOS in that tourney because of his bowling and he was a good bowler until 2014.

He played well in the 2009 Wt20 semi and final.But the rest of the time he was mediocre,with once in a blue moon performances.His fans point out his match winning innings but there were several more occasions on which he could have won us a match but we ended up losing because of a typically rash,brainless stroke e.g in Mohali,Jo’burg,Adelaide etc.He was just poor after 2014 and should have retired.

Not to mention his brainlessness as a captain and his backing of mediocre players(read:friends) in the playing XI.His antics on and off the field were just plain embarrassing.His retirements and comebacks were always the butt of jokes.I mean,he retired mid-series against Australia after making his test comeback after 4 years!Unbelievable.
 
Hitman said:
Even tailenders, both from Pakistan and other teams, took and played with more responsibility than him. I still can't believe he retired from Test cricket in the middle of a series that too while his was appointed the captain of the team, a post that he accepted in the first place. Can anything else be more irresponsible from an international cricketer? Talent and ability can take a backseat in international cricket (although he had neither) if you're such an irresponsible character.
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Correct me if i'm wrong , Didn't dhoni did the same.

P.S I'm not a fan of lala
 
He made us laugh.
He made us cry.
He made us tear our hair out.
He made us sat glued to the tv.
He made us curse.
He made us shout and cheer.
He divided opinion.
He is Shahid Afridi.
 
Saj said:
He made us laugh.
He made us cry.
He made us tear our hair out.
He made us sat glued to the tv.
He made us curse.
He made us shout and cheer.
He divided opinion.
He is Shahid Afridi.
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Great Poem...but like every great poet looks like the underlying message you are delivering through this is his mediocrity.
 
I have thought long and hard what the phrase “he is beyond stats” meant when it was used for Afridi almost on a regular basis but then....

I have heard a lot of Pakistani posters on here say how Afridi was so handsome that he made Indian girls swoon and how much better looking he was than Indian cricketers.

I have also heard tales of how he wanted to win at any cost and was aggressive enough to bite the ball or dance on the pitch braving all the cameras around.

If that doesn’t convince you how he is an “ATG cricketer” I don’t know what does.
 
I think this is exactly shows what Afridi was, boom or bust..
 
Ahmad Shah said:
View attachment 77351
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I am not defending him, but the way you are presenting data is misleading. I give you another set of data -

Out of 80 innings, he was out 70 times, 7 ducks & 23 scores of Under 20. It terms of % it's close to Afridi, considering that those 80 were all Test innings, where high scores were common. Now, that 80 innings batsman is Donald G Bradman.

Afrdi's bigger problem was that he hardly converted his starts - too many useless 20s & 30s; which indicates the guy never developed as a batman. His shot selection was poor, his innings planing was poor, he never bought time and most importantly, never put value to his wicket. He played over 500 Internationals, only because PAK fans liked his cheap shots, which converted into market pull for PCB, who was forced to pamper his ego. This actually never helped him to grow as a cricketer; otherwise we was more than capable of keeping or improving his batting stats & improving his bowling stats by at least 20%.

If half of the stands leave once the guy is hold on at mid wicket boundary from one of his ugly hoics, when the match is still in balance, it tells more about PAK crowd than Afridi. In that regard, you are right to mention Afridi's die hard fans, which probably at peak was about 95% of PAK, sadly.
 
MMHS said:
I am not defending him, but the way you are presenting data is misleading. I give you another set of data -

Out of 80 innings, he was out 70 times, 7 ducks & 23 scores of Under 20. It terms of % it's close to Afridi, considering that those 80 were all Test innings, where high scores were common. Now, that 80 innings batsman is Donald G Bradman.

Afrdi's bigger problem was that he hardly converted his starts - too many useless 20s & 30s; which indicates the guy never developed as a batman. His shot selection was poor, his innings planing was poor, he never bought time and most importantly, never put value to his wicket. He played over 500 Internationals, only because PAK fans liked his cheap shots, which converted into market pull for PCB, who was forced to pamper his ego. This actually never helped him to grow as a cricketer; otherwise we was more than capable of keeping or improving his batting stats & improving his bowling stats by at least 20%.

If half of the stands leave once the guy is hold on at mid wicket boundary from one of his ugly hoics, when the match is still in balance, it tells more about PAK crowd than Afridi. In that regard, you are right to mention Afridi's die hard fans, which probably at peak was about 95% of PAK, sadly.
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If half the stands left when he was out, it's because they knew the rest of the team was too selfish and interested in average to even try and win when he was gone. For most of his career, he was forced to score at huge rates to make up for selfishness of his teammates like Misbah in this fashion and then he's blamed for it.

Secondly, it's the critics like you who are not realizing the value when you call 30 (15) useless. It's not. In fact it's as useful as a Babar Azam 80 (100) if not more so. It's a failure of understanding the nature of limited overs cricket that a lot of his good innings are criticized as being bad. People who don't understand are confusing two things. One thing is not winning a match, this Afridi is guilty of many times, but really no player wins you the match very often; the other thing is losing the match for the team, and this Afridi never did, but players like Misbah, Asad, Younus, Umar Akmal (quite slow batsman actually) did incredibly often.

And all of this is in without any shame comparing a pure all-rounder, who was good enough as a bowler and bashing him based solely on batting (which was also good enough) and saying he didn't deserve to be in team. So many people would rather lose games than bat aggressively.
 
Afridi, for all of his mediocrity with the bat and ball throughout various stages of his career, perfectly encapsulated the spirit of pakistan cricket. Just like how the pakistan team is known to be unpredictable, Afridi, the most mercurial player of all, could go boom or bust on any day. I would be ignorant if i called him an ATG player, but perhaps one of the greatest entertainers on and off the field in all of sport.
 
Do not post political rubbish on this thread; do it again and you will be banned.
 
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DRsohail said:
it was RAzzler and UMAR GUl who did the damage..AFRIDI just took away credit for other job...he should have done it in semi against sri in 2012 when the conditions were tough.
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As far as I remember, he did great in SA semi-final with both bat and ball.Even in final we needed a six and no one else seemed to be hitting that.
 
Afridi was a good player until about 2011.
 
CricketAnalyst said:
If half the stands left when he was out, it's because they knew the rest of the team was too selfish and interested in average to even try and win when he was gone. For most of his career, he was forced to score at huge rates to make up for selfishness of his teammates like Misbah in this fashion and then he's blamed for it.

Secondly, it's the critics like you who are not realizing the value when you call 30 (15) useless. It's not. In fact it's as useful as a Babar Azam 80 (100) if not more so. It's a failure of understanding the nature of limited overs cricket that a lot of his good innings are criticized as being bad. People who don't understand are confusing two things. One thing is not winning a match, this Afridi is guilty of many times, but really no player wins you the match very often; the other thing is losing the match for the team, and this Afridi never did, but players like Misbah, Asad, Younus, Umar Akmal (quite slow batsman actually) did incredibly often.

And all of this is in without any shame comparing a pure all-rounder, who was good enough as a bowler and bashing him based solely on batting (which was also good enough) and saying he didn't deserve to be in team. So many people would rather lose games than bat aggressively.
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A tiny part of his career crosses path with Misbah & Azhar - for most part he actually did opposite.

What you wrote for SR or short but impactful innings is perfect for T20; that’s why he is one of the ATG in T20 cricket and still a top pick for most PLs & SLs. But, OP coveeed his entire career, while I considered mostly his ODI career, which should have been far better.
 
MMHS said:
A tiny part of his career crosses path with Misbah & Azhar - for most part he actually did opposite.

What you wrote for SR or short but impactful innings is perfect for T20; that’s why he is one of the ATG in T20 cricket and still a top pick for most PLs & SLs. But, OP coveeed his entire career, while I considered mostly his ODI career, which should have been far better.
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In the majority of his career, even 80 was a good SR. It's mediocre now. His SR of 117 was unreal. The back of the hand formula of Avg*SR/100 leaves Afridi very close to Ganguly, Dravid and several other batters considered top-class.

I have argued this before and people are slightly more aware now, but still very ignorant of how much good SR helps a team and bad SR hurts a team in ODI. A 40 avg guy with 80 SR is scoring 40 (50) Afridi is scoring 23 (19). It's very arguable that 17 (31) which is the difference between these two is a negative contribution.

And again this is like treating a PURE ALL-ROUNDER as though he never did any bowling. Criticisms of the man are barely valid even if you just look at his batting, but then he was also a full quota bowler, which is people saying he isn't a white-ball great simply don't understand the value of scoring fast.
 
The criticisms are that because he scored fast and actually tried to save the team, he is the man at fault unless he becomes Superman and wins every match single-handed.

People just don't get it, that "NOT WINNING MATCH" is not the same thing as "LOSING MATCH". Losing a match was what Misbah specialized in. Not winning a match is what Afridi did many times.
 
Induction of Afridi was the start of demise of Pakistan cricket..

Players like him kept talented players away while constantly using media and introducing media culture in the PCB plus bringing rats like Shehzad and Akmal to PCT


Thank God his replacement Shadab is million times better

BUT i would still pick him over Misbah anyday...
 
IMMY69 said:
There are some glaring stats for Afridi which tells us that a great crime was commuted in Pakistan cricket.
Utterly outrageous.

Forget ATG the man’s stats actually prove how he managed to keep out youngsters from the side for so many matches over such a long time... To make matters worse he was the one to say, whilst he was captain, that there is not enough talent in Pakistan to replace him.

I’m convinced that Pakistan Cricket, just like our own country, would have done a lot better with the right personnel on board..
Click to expand...

Yes look at the way how our ODI and T20I sides flourished after Afridi left..clearly shows that he was a huge problem in the side
 
He was an excellent bowler peaking in the 2011 World Cup. His batting had always been hit and miss but no one can deny that if he had his day he could win matches and he did win us a lot of important ones. The 2009 WT20 SF and Final he played important knocks, the 2014 Asia Cup virtual semi-final and many more innings he's played have resulted in wins.

I think what led many people to start going against him was his bowling form dropped towards the last few years of his career. He was good enough as a bowler before, in fact he was probably a world class bowler when he was at his best so he could be in the team for his bowling alone so if he failed with the bat it wouldn't have been a major deal. However, as his bowling form dropped, fingers started to point at him for our struggles. This was understandable because , like I said, his batting had never been consistent , but as his bowling was becoming mediocre he was really starting to mess with the balance of his team. He would only contribute with the bat once in a blue moon and his bowling was bang average so therefore he became a bits and pieces player taking up 1 spot in the team. Shadab Khan, who seems his natural replacement, is without a doubt a better bowler + fielder than Afridi was in his last few years and also seems a steady batsman, albeit very different nature to Afridi.

His stats may look average but that would be the worst way to judge his career as he is a unique cricketer. He was an important player for Pakistan but there is no doubt that he carried on playing well past his sell-by date which negatively affected his reputation as well as stats. Also, he wasn't a great captain but he is one of the most entertaining cricketers in the history of the game and I doubt we will ever see a cricketer like him again.
 
All Afridi had to do was hit as straight as possible and with his power, hand to eye co-ordination, and reflexes etc. 9 out of 10 times it would have gone over the boundary, on any ground. This is a theory Miandad enforced quite strictly while being around the team (as a coach) and if I am not mistaken, his scoring became comparitively better during that time!

But Miandad was sacked and Afridi went back to his old ways of hitting across the line hathorra shots towards mid-on/mid-wicket and would get out 7-10 times there. Same with his bowling, he could have been a much better bowler if he had only bowled a bit slower and only ocassionally bowling faster but as he would get hit, he would start bowling faster and faster. Something we saw a lot when a good spin player took him on, Afridi just didn't have the guile for such a batsman unless the pitch was really helpful.

At the end of the day, I blame him for a lot of ills found in our young batters these days and for not being able to do better than the sum of his mediocre stats...if you ask him now, he would accept (just like Akhtar) that had I listened to the advice being given to me, I would have achieved a heck lot more than than what I eventually did.
 
On his good days he was brilliant, sadly those good days were few and far between.
 
I believe if T20 franchise leagues had started a decade earlier...Afridi would have probably become one of those journeyman cricketers we see these days who don’t play a lot of international games for their side but are sought after by these leagues...I guess had he debuted in the modern era he would have played a lot less International cricket than he actually ended up playing including Test matches and as many ODIs as he did.
 
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