Monsee said:
^^^ Fair enough GB, and agreed on most of your points but as a player, Afridi's utility for Pak team is going down with each passing day!
Even his bowling, if one exclude his achievements against the minnows and really weaker teams, is nothing special to write home about any more; he struggles to perform when pitted against the stronger teams!
Less said about his batting, the better!
Like I said on some other thread, (don't even know which one, PP has been very crowded), you can twist statistics all you like but the simple fact of the matter is, in our last 12-18 months, with our bowling severely depleted and us lacking firepower, Shahid has really stepped it up with the ball. Yes, his average might have gone up a few notches against the non-minnows, but you have to remember, he bowls in the over 20-40 time period. It's not always the easiest to get wickets and a lot of spinners get milked around. However, Shahid consistently limits the runs and occasionally snatches the odd wicket or two.
Often, we see him end up with 1/40 or 2/40 and while that might not look spectacular on the scorecard, it is brilliant, especially when you're bowling during that time of the innings. Batsman can easily milk six singles in the over, especially with the defensive field most captains end up employing. So to do better than 60 runs, is an accomplishment.
His contribution doesn't end there. He is constantly geeing up our players, and I believe Afridi the captain also knows how to get the best out of players. In the recent RBS Twenty20 cup (which I watched LIVE by the way), Afridi did a lot of right things as captain. It was clear that the young players completely respected Shahid the player, as indicated by Anwar Ali during an interview, and thus, were willing to pick up tips and learn from him. Shahid has been around the international circuit for 12 years, so by now, he has a lot of valuable advice to give to people who are just donning the cap and initiating their careers.
Now, you can look at statistics, and you would conclude that Shahid had a decent, if not good tournament. I mean, he didn't contribute too much with the bat, his bowling was pretty good, and his captaincy was supposedly not good enough to win the cup. But those are just statistics. I saw the games live and Afridi was superb with the tactical, personal, and experimental side of things.
He came in when Karachi was seriously struggling in almost every single game (yeah, so much for Karachi being an immensely strong team), and had to dig them out of a hole each time. Unfortunately, he did not cross 28 but what was refreshing was his approach. He was playing with a straight bat and looking to hit over long off and long on. I think for a while, what he's lacked with his batting in international cricket, is time and confidence. He was coming in with a couple of overs left for Pakistan, and since he was so out of touch, he just continued his slump instead of picking himself up. For Karachi, he came in with plenty of time left and straight away looked a better player. His batting will come off eventually -- he just needs some time. It's quite clear he hasn't lost his reflexes -- he was still hitting 4's and 6's without finding the middle of the bat, and his mis-timed strokes are hit harder than others' timed ones.
He had a great tournament, but statistics won't show us that. Yes, he didn't win in the final, but even in the final, his captaincy was spot on, his bowling was superb, and his on-the-field tactical awareness was brilliant. He squeezed the life out of the Sialkot middle order and snuck the match back in our favor after their batsman only managed 120 odd. He led from the front, put his hand up, and delivered four superb overs, where he should have picked up a couple of wickets (he was denied Malik's wicket due to a lolly-drop).
Over all, I think people will always see him as some brainless slogger with no desire to succeed. I, however, see a burning desire to succeed, a lifting and refreshing approach on the field, and a batting idealogy that can reap great, great rewards with the right changes. And the best part of it all is... Pakistan can have it.
) ...you do have a point there but still well done Shoaib.
