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The Legend that is Shahid Afridi - Did he underachieve as a cricketer?

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MenInG

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==

Crowd favourite, man who spoke (and still speaks) his mind, a maverick, one that all captains wanted in their side, not a huge achiever but respected like a legend of Pakistan cricket.

Involved in many interesting incidents during his career including

1. Digging up a pitch
2. Biting the ball
3. Took on GG and any other cricketer who stood in Pakistan's way!

Could he have achieved more during his career or did he achieve his best based on the talent he had?
 
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He both overachieved and underachieved at the same time. He wouldn't have played these many games if he was playing for any other team. Looking at the opportunities he got, he underachieved for sure. Although in his initial phase of his career he was a beast. :inti
 
As Afridi himself says in his book you should not look at him as a specialist batsman but as a bowling all-rounder, as one of the best ODI spinners, with his stats not unlike those of Harbhajan Singh for instance but way more impactful as a legspinner, who offered a "bonus" hitting down the order that no team really could refuse.

He could make any ODI XI today if you look at him from that perspective.

In T20s as well we all know that he was as good as anyone.

In Tests you could say he underachieved but as an opening bat considering our few resources he isn't that bad as his low average is balanced by his high SR, and despite a short career he has some epic 100s, against India in that famous Chennai Test or that other hundred against India in the early 2000s with a SR of +200.
 
It's fashionable these days to crap all over him but he was a genuine force of nature until 2006,inconsistent sure but extremely effective irrespective of opposition & condition. After then, since 2007 his batting declined, he simply lost the ability to handle decent pace,so he became a spinner/trundler basher & concentrated more on bowling. Funny thing is from 96-06 when he wasn't a frontline bowler he could still from time to time produce match winning spells. A proper captain could handle him & squeeze the best out of him. Possibly why he flourished so much under Wasim. Problem is no one since then with the exception of Inzy knew how to utilize him properly. He definitely dragged his career a bit too longer, but then again that's a common practice in SC.
 
The right cricketer for the wrong time. I can’t think of a Pakistani player more purpose built for T20s than Afridi. Unfortunately t20s properly came around when he’d passed the absolute peak of his abilities.

He was a great example of a Pakistani talent that could’ve been much more impactful if he’d received the correct coaching at the right time. Because of his fastest hundred, he spent the first few years of his career floundering around not being a consistent enough batsman or an impactful enough bowler.

Which is why his performances did begin to improve under Bob Woolmer’s coaching and his bowling kicked on from there onwards.

He was a player who would endlessly frustrate you by holing out after hitting a few sixes.

However, I’ve greatly come to respect Afridi, the man, because of philanthropic efforts and his general character.
 
He was never the same after his test retirement and the 2011 WC

Overall he could have been an ATG for PAK similar to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram if he maybe continued opening the batting and focused on his bowling. I feel Waqar really damaged his career as a captain and coach.

Also his big mouth and impulsive behavior on and off the field often led him to trouble
that not only affected him but embarrassed the country on a few occasions as well.
His political statements regarding the Sharifs also infuriated many people including me.

Statistically speaking, he was an average cricketer on the basis of both his bowling and batting averages.He will however be remembered for his fastest century, 2009 WT20 role and his bowling and captaincy in the 2011 WC. God blesses on whom He wills and therefore Shahid Afridi may always remain an icon despite his shortcomings.
 
In his first couple of years of international cricket we had the likes of Richard Hadlee commenting that he is destined to be an All time great.

So in that sense he underachieved.

I slowly realised over time that unfortunately he was a bit of a mental midget and his “this is how I play”, “I’m actually a bowler” mentality came later on and was a cop out.
 
Lala underachieved in tests for sure. Had he remained committed to long form, he would have became a proper test legend.
 
I think he could've achieved more if he batted more sensibly. He could've easily ended up with 11000-12000 runs.
 
1.Quality LOI spinner between 2005-2011.
2. Intimidating batsman in the first half and a crowd puller.

If 2009 won't have happened, he would have been remembered as a mediocre cricketer but what he did in that tournament and the performances in 2007 too, he goes down as a very very good cricketer.
 
These are the list of elite all rounders from Asia in white ball cricket in the below order:-

1.Kapil Dev
2.Sanath Jayasuriya
3.Imran Khan( could have been higher if his peak bowling coincided during the World Cup events or happened a bit latter)
4.Shakib Al Hasan
5.Abdul Razzaq
6.Shahid Afridi
7.Hardik Pandya( potentially)
 
Overachieved with his bowling but massively underachieved with his batting. There were a few smart innings he played where he combined his slogging with good 1’s and 2’s and it makes you realize he could’ve been much better if he played smarter instead of slogging every ball.
 
TheSultan said:
I slowly realised over time that unfortunately he was a bit of a mental midget and his “this is how I play”, “I’m actually a bowler” mentality came later on and was a cop out.
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Lala (& Kaif) is my favorite cricketer.. But I agree with this statement.. He was not just a slogger but a capable batsman.. Whenever under pressure he tries to slog out off his way.. Most of time its backfired.. He was one of the main culprits in their semi final loss in wc 2011.. I mean he got out on a full toss delivery and the next 5 overs were powerplay overs with only 3 fielders allowed in the outside circle.
 
As a batter, definitely yes.
But in hindsight. Whatever he seems to have underachieved as a batter , he more than made up for it with his bowling, fielding and leadership.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Afridi has like 9 five wicket hauls in ODI cricket. And a few of them are 7 wicket hauls. He also probably has the best ODI figures ever for Pakistan as a bowler with his 7/12 against Kenya or WI. Does anyone understand how unreal these numbers are? No Bharatiya bowler or for that matter English bowler or from some more top cricket nations even come close to having such numbers in white ball cricket.

So, yes, Afridi the cricketer is an ODI great of the game if you consider his all around heroics, leadership, iconic stature.

But I totally understand a great deal of us grew up with an image of Afridi as a batsman and he doesn’t have a good average / SR ratio to show for as a batter. It’s hugely disappointing. If he was let’s say as good as Maxwell or Miller with the bat consistency wise, he would have been a sure shot contender for a place in the ATG ODI XI.
 
Smbhayi said:
Lala (& Kaif) is my favorite cricketer.. But I agree with this statement.. He was not just a slogger but a capable batsman.. Whenever under pressure he tries to slog out off his way.. Most of time its backfired.. He was one of the main culprits in their semi final loss in wc 2011.. I mean he got out on a full toss delivery and the next 5 overs were powerplay overs with only 3 fielders allowed in the outside circle.
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His Arrival at the crease had a lot of impact on the opposition as they knew that If he came firing then they would be gone. Such was his presence on the field.
 
Bhaijaan said:
He also probably has the best ODI figures ever for Pakistan as a bowler with his 7/12 against Kenya or WI.
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Against WI, and it was his comeback game, one of the best comeback ever.. he also scored rapid fifty in that game when Pak lost 5 wickets for 50 odd runs..
Plus he had three 5wicket+50runs combo in odis, most by any player..
 
He underachieved big time especially when batting. Instead of being avg 23 and sr 117 , he would have achieved much more for Pakistan with 35 avg with 95 SR.
 
Shahid Afridi, during a local TV program when asked about his intentions to become a coach, replied:

"I agree with you. You have raised a good point. We, as cricketers who have played for Pakistan, should contribute at the lower level, teaching youngsters in under-14, under-16, and under-19 categories. In our system, those who have played cricket tend to become Pakistan team coaches, which I am never in favor of. You don't need coaching at the national team level. You need coaching at the lower level, guiding new talent, and training young boys. If their teacher is good, they will emerge as good students. Therefore, in coaching, we need to work at the grassroots level."
 
Shahid did not underachieve as a bowler for sure but as a batsman, his performance was under par. He would have achieved really awesome results with the bat if he had forsaken his carefree and reckless approach. Glenn maxwell was also diagnosed with same problem but the Australian team management sit with him and redefined him his role as a responsible batter and the rest is history. May be afridi couldn't get such mentorship.
 
May be in this age of cricket, Afridi the batsman would have feasted on some trundlers and Mickey mouse grounds.
 
Kianig89 said:
May be in this age of cricket, Afridi the batsman would have feasted on some trundlers and Mickey mouse grounds.
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I also think that.

He can possibly hit better than many current mainstream batters (even at this old age).
 
One of the worst cricketers to ever play for Pakistan. He over achieved and over played for Pakistan.
 
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Underachieved in T20 coz T20 was in infancy stage during his peak years. In today's world, he would've been the MVP of Pak team and a very demanding player for leagues like PSL, BBL, CPL etc. In fact for IPL too but wouldn't have got the chance for obvious reason.

Overachieved in ODI by playing ~400 matches.
 
Major said:
One of the worst cricketers to ever play for Pakistan. He over achieved and over played for Pakistan.
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Afridi>Hafeez,Malik, Azhar Mehmood, S.Tanvir, I.Farhat, I.Nazir.Y.Arafat and there is a long list
 
FearlessRoar said:
Shahid Afridi, during a local TV program when asked about his intentions to become a coach, replied:

"I agree with you. You have raised a good point. We, as cricketers who have played for Pakistan, should contribute at the lower level, teaching youngsters in under-14, under-16, and under-19 categories. In our system, those who have played cricket tend to become Pakistan team coaches, which I am never in favor of. You don't need coaching at the national team level. You need coaching at the lower level, guiding new talent, and training young boys. If their teacher is good, they will emerge as good students. Therefore, in coaching, we need to work at the grassroots level."
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I hope to see him getting some role as a coach at junior level. He can be a good role model for young players who have the ability to play aggressive games. Afiridi can surely help those young guns.
 
I think he did better as a bowler and performed at par as a batsman.

His zenith was his performance in T20 World Cups 2007 and 2009.

* He was player of Series in 2007 T20 World Cup. With a few ifs and buts, Pakistan could have been winners of that World Cup. He failed in the knockouts, but he made it up in the next edition.
* Pakistan won 2009 T20 World Cup with Shahid Afridi winning MOM in semi finals and finals.
 
Extremely selfish batsman who never played for the team and only for his reputation. His fans call him a “match winner” but he has lost Pakistan countless matches that too single-handedly.

Afridi could have been such a valuable asset with the bat his hitting ability had he chose to play for the team and we saw that on a handful of occasions where he actually played for the team, for example, the 2009 T20 WC and the 2010 Asia Cup, in addition to a few Test knocks.

Every single captain and coach failed to curb his selfishness.
 
Mamoon said:
Extremely selfish batsman who never played for the team and only for his reputation. His fans call him a “match winner” but he has lost Pakistan countless matches that too single-handedly.

Afridi could have been such a valuable asset with the bat his hitting ability had he chose to play for the team and we saw that on a handful of occasions where he actually played for the team, for example, the 2009 T20 WC and the 2010 Asia Cup, in addition to a few Test knocks.

Every single captain and coach failed to curb his selfishness.
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A very self centred and ego driven individual who should have been dropped and taught to be a team player. I am astounded they call him a great
 
Afridi averaged:

36 at a SR of 86 in Tests
23 at a SR of 117 in ODIs
18 at a SR of 150 in T20Is

However, he could have averaged the following with the same batting ability and technique had he chose to apply himself better and play for the team.

42 at a SR of 75 in Tests
30 at a SR of 100 in ODIs
25 at a SR of 140 in T20Is

Coupled with his bowling and fielding, those numbers would have made him a very valuable batsman and he would have won a lot more matches and lost a lot less matches for Pakistan.
 
Mamoon said:
Afridi averaged:

36 at a SR of 86 in Tests
23 at a SR of 117 in ODIs
18 at a SR of 150 in T20Is

However, he could have averaged the following with the same batting ability and technique had he chose to apply himself better and play for the team.

42 at a SR of 75 in Tests
30 at a SR of 100 in ODIs
25 at a SR of 140 in T20Is

Coupled with his bowling and fielding, those numbers would have made him a very valuable batsman and he would have won a lot more matches and lost a lot less matches for Pakistan.
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Afridi didn't have the game to average 40 in tests and 30 in ODIs. You might as well be talking about a different player.

His strength was his power game and if he had moved away from that, he would have become the spin-bowling Abdul Razzaq - a player who truly did underachieve.

Afridi is a lock in both of Pakistan's all-time white hall teams. He is also one of the most popular and recognizable cricketers of all time. People think he underachieved because he was way ahead of his time.

If an 18 year old Afridi made his debut for Pakistan today, with T20 the premier format of the world, he would outshine every other cricketer on the planet.
 
Bilal7 said:
Afridi didn't have the game to average 40 in tests and 30 in ODIs. You might as well be talking about a different player.

His strength was his power game and if he had moved away from that, he would have become the spin-bowling Abdul Razzaq - a player who truly did underachieve.

Afridi is a lock in both of Pakistan's all-time white hall teams. He is also one of the most popular and recognizable cricketers of all time. People think he underachieved because he was way ahead of his time.

If an 18 year old Afridi made his debut for Pakistan today, with T20 the premier format of the world, he would outshine every other cricketer on the planet.
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If you can average 36 and 23, you can also average 40 and 30. All Afridi needed to do was apply himself more frequently than he did and he didn’t do it because he spent his career living up to his reputation.

The 37 ball century made him a superstar but ironically, it also damaged his career massively.

Afridi making his debut today with the same skill-set would hardly set any waves in the cricket world because in today’s era, there are at least 20 better hitters than him. He would fail to stand out.
 
Mamoon said:
If you can average 36 and 23, you can also average 40 and 30. All Afridi needed to do was apply himself more frequently than he did and he didn’t do it because he spent his career living up to his reputation.

The 37 ball century made him a superstar but ironically, it also damaged his career massively.

Afridi making his debut today with the same skill-set would hardly set any waves in the cricket world because in today’s era, there are at least 20 better hitters than him. He would fail to stand out.
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False. There is a huge difference between a 40 averaging batsman and a 30 averaging batsman. Afridi's average of 36 was inflated because he barely played tests. Had he continued, his average would be close to 28-30.

He could never average 40 in test cricket unless you consider him a better test batsmen than the likes of Imran and Botham.

There are zero better lower-order hitters than Afridi in all of Asia today. Afridi could hit sixes from ball one, which only a couple of Australian, English and South African batsmen can do.
 
I have followed Shahid Afridi's whole career right from his first match till his last and all I can say he was full of narcissism & a kind of megalomaniac who only played for his fake stardom by creating lobbying in media. He never cared for the team's victory or team building for long term and he never tried to improve his game even after having such a long career. He manipulated his whole career by sometimes playing as a bowling all-rounder and sometimes as a batting all-rounder as per his own convenience, he didn't knew himself what he actually was. His only performance came in 2009 T20 WCs SF & Final and in addition he performed in some random matches. He was finally forced to retire from international cricket in 2016 after miserable last 2-3 years but still he shamelessly begged PCB for final match
 
How can a person with such a huge fan following be an underachiever?

He was the superstar of Pakistan cricket and will remain so forever.
 
Most MoM awards in ODIs for Pakistan.
Only 3 players have more MoM awards than Afridi from all teams.

1701645789771.png
 
Cricket Warrior said:
How can a person with such a huge fan following be an underachiever?

He was the superstar of Pakistan cricket and will remain so forever.
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Fan following doesnt mean you achieved something in your field.

@Mamoon said it beautifully, and this is something that we were made aware by Navjot, that Afridi was a selfish cricketer. He only played for his boom boom reputation.
 
Major said:
Fan following doesnt mean you achieved something in your field.

@Mamoon said it beautifully, and this is something that we were made aware by Navjot, that Afridi was a selfish cricketer. He only played for his boom boom reputation.
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But he didn't earn most Man of the Match awards for Pakistan by playing selfish cricket.

Man of the Match awards in the World Cup 2009 semi-final and final were his achievements that made us champions.
 
Cricket Warrior said:
But he didn't earn most Man of the Match awards for Pakistan by playing selfish cricket.

Man of the Match awards in the World Cup 2009 semi-final and final were his achievements that made us champions.
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bro, he played 400 games or close to it.

He was an all rounder. Thus, he was more likely to win a man of the match. This is something that hafeez also did. Hafeez has more MOTM awards than Waqar Younis, are we gonna sit here and claim that Hafeez was a better cricketer than Waqar Younis?

Waqar is a player that people consider in all time great teams
 
Liked him as a bowler, way better than the sorry spinners we have now.
A very frustrating batsman though. So many times he'd throw his wicket away needlessly because he only knew one way. There's being aggressive and then there's being reckless.
 
zaidihusain said:
I have followed Shahid Afridi's whole career right from his first match till his last and all I can say he was full of narcissism & a kind of megalomaniac who only played for his fake stardom by creating lobbying in media. He never cared for the team's victory or team building for long term and he never tried to improve his game even after having such a long career. He manipulated his whole career by sometimes playing as a bowling all-rounder and sometimes as a batting all-rounder as per his own convenience, he didn't knew himself what he actually was. His only performance came in 2009 T20 WCs SF & Final and in addition he performed in some random matches. He was finally forced to retire from international cricket in 2016 after miserable last 2-3 years but still he shamelessly begged PCB for final match
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Very well put. Afridi is a classic narcissist.

To give him some credit his leg spin was actually pretty useful in ODI's. He definitely worked on it and it was that aspect which kept him in the team.

But most probably his leg spin was a neccessary utility so that he could keep batting irresponsibly for the sake of his brand.
 
zaidihusain said:
I have followed Shahid Afridi's whole career right from his first match till his last and all I can say he was full of narcissism & a kind of megalomaniac who only played for his fake stardom by creating lobbying in media. He never cared for the team's victory or team building for long term and he never tried to improve his game even after having such a long career. He manipulated his whole career by sometimes playing as a bowling all-rounder and sometimes as a batting all-rounder as per his own convenience, he didn't knew himself what he actually was. His only performance came in 2009 T20 WCs SF & Final and in addition he performed in some random matches. He was finally forced to retire from international cricket in 2016 after miserable last 2-3 years but still he shamelessly begged PCB for final match
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Its funny how some people consider him some big legend, yet many of us dont care to remember his retirement as the guy had made retiring a whole joke.
 
Afridi was a perfect example of a player who played only to further enhance his reputation of boom boom. He never played for the team. He had the talent to be a batsman who averaged 30+ in ODIs, but he was only interested in himself and his brand.

And to justify his pathetic average as a batsman, he would say that he was a bowler who could bat a bit, which just wasn't true. He didn't even bowl a whole lot during the first few years of his international career. He was playing as a batsman, but to cement his place in the team, he started to focus on his bowling and that was no doubt, that he was a good bowler at his peak, but as a batsman, he was always unreliable.

The sad part is that our fans have made a player who averages 23 with the bat and 35 with the bowl into a superstar. No wonder we are such a mediocre team. I don't think a player like Afridi has a 20 year career for teams like England, Australia, India, New Zealand and South Africa.
 
What would Imran Khan's approach to handling and managing Afridi if he played under his captaincy?
 
W63L35 said:
Most MoM awards in ODIs for Pakistan.
Only 3 players have more MoM awards than Afridi from all teams.

View attachment 139693
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Yes, Shahid Afridi got 32 MOM awards in 398 ODIs he played, some for his bowling and some for his batting, however his performance in rest of the matches was next to nothing that's why he ended up with a batting average of 23. Majority of players in this list had a batting average of around 35 or more which means they were far more consistent & impactful throughout their career.
By the way 13 of Afridi's 32 MOM awards came against teams like Bang, Zim, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya, Afghan
8 against Sri Lanka
3 against West Indies
Remaining 8 against big teams like Aus, Ind, End, NZ, SA.

Every big team knew that Pakistan is playing with 10 batsmen if Afridi is in the playing 11.
 
Major said:
Its funny how some people consider him some big legend, yet many of us dont care to remember his retirement as the guy had made retiring a whole joke.
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Actually, people who consider Afridi as legend watch the game of cricket as Bollywood movie, for them 2-3 sixes in a game are only source of entertainment, team's performance or result is matter of least concern to them.

This guy actually started the trend of crying in media with his cringe press conferences during his playing days whenever he was dropped from the team, he used to share his matters with PCB and other teammates all the time with media for gimmicks and getting sympathy from his fans. Yes, he made a mockery of his retirement, and his age fudging was another embarrassment.
 
zaidihusain said:
Actually, people who consider Afridi as legend watch the game of cricket as Bollywood movie, for them 2-3 sixes in a game are only source of entertainment, team's performance or result is matter of least concern to them.

This guy actually started the trend of crying in media with his cringe press conferences during his playing days whenever he was dropped from the team, he used to share his matters with PCB and other teammates all the time with media for gimmicks and getting sympathy from his fans. Yes, he made a mockery of his retirement, and his age fudging was another embarrassment.
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the whole oath taking had to happen because no one in the team trusted afridi. that was the most hilarious part of his career.
 
zaidihusain said:
Yes, Shahid Afridi got 32 MOM awards in 398 ODIs he played, some for his bowling and some for his batting, however his performance in rest of the matches was next to nothing that's why he ended up with a batting average of 23. Majority of players in this list had a batting average of around 35 or more which means they were far more consistent & impactful throughout their career.
By the way 13 of Afridi's 32 MOM awards came against teams like Bang, Zim, Netherlands, Canada, Kenya, Afghan
8 against Sri Lanka
3 against West Indies
Remaining 8 against big teams like Aus, Ind, End, NZ, SA.

Every big team knew that Pakistan is playing with 10 batsmen if Afridi is in the playing 11.
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He received only 2 MoM awards vs West Indies. Please check your stats.

In your effort to undermine Afridi's 8 MoM awards vs Sri Lanka, did you realize that;
1. Afridi hit that famous 37 ball 100 againt Sri Lanka who became World Champions only 8 month and 11 ODIs ago.

2. His most matches vs SL which included Muralitharan who ended up with most ODI wickets (534) by a bowler.
3. His most matches vs SL which included Vaas who ended up with 4th highest ODI wickets (400) by a bowler.
4. His most matches vs SL which ncluded Malinga who ended up with 9th highest ODI wickets (338) by a bowler.
5. His most matches vs SL which included Jayasuria who ended up with 11th highest ODI wickets (323) by a bowler.

6. His most matches vs SL which included Sangakara who ended up with 2nd highest ODI runs (14234) by a batsman.
7. His most matches vs SL which included Jayawardene who ended up with 6th highest ODI runs (12650) by a batsman.
8. His most matches vs SL which included Jayasuria who ended up with 5th highest ODI runs (13430) by a batsman.

9. Afrid dismissed Sanagakara 9 times in ODIs.
10. Afridi dismissed Jayawardene 6 times in ODIs.

Last but not the least.....
11. How many Pakistani batsmen have scored more than 10,000 ODI runs? Only Inzi.
12. How many Sri Lankas batsmen have scored more than 10,000 ODI runs? Four - Sanga, Jayawardene, Jayasuria, Dilshan.
13. How many Pakistani bowlers have taken more than 300 ODI wickets? 3 (wasim, waqar, Afridi)
14. How many SL bowlers have taken more than 300 ODI wickets? 4 (Vaas, Murali, Malinga, Jayasuria)

Hope all these points help understand that wins against Sri Lanka were no mean achievements.

I am sure, you did see how our team folded against Sri Lanka in recent Asia Cup eventhough there was no Murali, Malinga, Vaas, Jayasuria, Jayawardene or Sangakara in it where as we had super stars like Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi.

One more point, in your earlier post, you had only acknowledged two Afridi performances..... in 2007 T20 WC semi-final and final. Did you forget Afridi's Player of the Series performances in Asutalian Tri-Series vs Aus/WI when we won that Tri-Series after many failed attempts by the sides lead by Imran Khan and Javid Miandad? By the way, that was the only time we won that Tri-Series.

1701704250259.png
 
I agree he was born in the wrong time. Today would have been far more lethal, and was more suited to t20 cricket where he’s easily an atg there. I think quite a few times in ODIs especially he could adapted his Play a bit more and not just gone out slogging when the situation didn’t demand it. I think he underachieved as a batsman in all formats, and with the ball in ODIs but not t20s where he was immense.
 
Bilal7 said:
False. There is a huge difference between a 40 averaging batsman and a 30 averaging batsman. Afridi's average of 36 was inflated because he barely played tests. Had he continued, his average would be close to 28-30.

He could never average 40 in test cricket unless you consider him a better test batsmen than the likes of Imran and Botham.

There are zero better lower-order hitters than Afridi in all of Asia today. Afridi could hit sixes from ball one, which only a couple of Australian, English and South African batsmen can do.
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Whether Afridi's average is was inflated or deflated is not the point. What his average would have been in the future after X many Tests is also not the point.

The point is that in the Test matches that he played, he could have had a higher average (somewhere around 40) had he chosen to apply himself for the team and not play for his image and reputation.

If you can average 36 @86 without applying yourself, you can definitely average 40 with better application but with a slightly lower SR which would still be very high for the format.

Botham played his home Tests in the UK. It is much harder to sustain your average especially as an aggressive player against the moving ball. Afridi played his home Tests on dead Pakistani wickets where scoring runs wasn't very difficult which is why Afridi averages way more in Tests than ODIs and T20Is.

Scoring Test runs on dead wickets as a lower-order batsman is actually easier than it is in LOIs because you have more gaps in the field, you have tired bowlers and there is also no scoreboard pressure so you can afford to take your time. Afridi averages 39 in Pakistan in Tests and this average of 39 could have been higher had he applied himself.

Imran Khan was marginally better than a tail-ender for the first 30 odd Tests which is why his overall batting average is low. He really improved his batting capabilities in the second half of his career and became as good as a specialist batsman.

As far as lower-order hitters are concerned, Afridi is not the benchmark anymore. Hitting sixes from ball one is pointless when you are mostly back in the pavilion after 4 balls. That is what Asif Ali used to do as well.

Proper hitters are guys like Pandya, Maxwell, Miller, Buttler, Livingstone, Klaasen and now guys like Rinku Singh are emerging who is quite a powerhouse and consistent as well for his style of play. Pakistan currently doesn't have a better hitter than Afridi but then again, Pakistan is the least talented cricket nation ever.

We have always lacked quite a few qualities that are normal for other teams. I mean, what needs to be said about a cricket nation whose best WK batsman of all time is Rizwan and between the debuts of Mohammad Yousuf (1997) and Babar Azam (2015), could not produce a single batsman who was world class in both Tests and LOIs.
 
Even as an ODI captain Afridi was miles & miles ahead of Misbah....

ODI captains vs AUS/NZ/SAF/ENG.

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Afridi was the last of superstars of Pakistan cricket, the last who instilled fear in opposition after that Pakistan cricket went into infancy where toddlers like Misbah and Azhar took over
 
Shahid afridi was the name if fear for the opposition. The game was not finished until he is on the crease. 2009 t20 run and then 2011 world cup performance was above many.
 
Until Afridi didn't get out, the match wasn't over. As soon as Afridi got out, the match was over for the fans. He's a cricket superstar, I'm lucky to have witnessed his era.
 
Afridi didn't underachieve.

He was a good bowler and with our current crop of terrible allrounders like shadab, the gap is skill is night and day.

It's just pakistani fans misunderstood what lala was about.

He himself claimed he was a bowling allrounder who could hit a few here and their.

Our fans judged him solely for his batting ability.

With the amount of wickets he has and the records he's achieved. He did just fine in international cricket.
 
Absolutely, look how chalak he is now, the man is a master manipulator. Imagine he was this chalak while playing for Pakistan.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
The way he played lathmaar cricket throughout his career he overachieved in terms of fame in my opinion
 
Yes, after the 90s players retired he just became a lower order hack. More of a bowling all rounder.

He should have ended his career as an opener with a 35+ average.
 
Afridi was a massive underachiever, the guy averaged 23 with the bat and 35 with the ball, he lost countless matches for pak by getting out on the 2nd ball after hitting a six.

Worst of all his superstardom inculcated a terrible mentality in future pakistani batsmen.

The only time he bothered to show some application was in the 2009 wc when pak won, imagine if he did that more often.

A massively overrated cricketer among the pakistani general public, but he did build a huge brand and cult following around, no surprise he's the wealthiest pakistani player
 
Statpadder Inc said:
Afridi was a massive underachiever, the guy averaged 23 with the bat and 35 with the ball, he lost countless matches for pak by getting out on the 2nd ball after hitting a six.

Worst of all his superstardom inculcated a terrible mentality in future pakistani batsmen.

The only time he bothered to show some application was in the 2009 wc when pak won, imagine if he did that more often.

A massively overrated cricketer among the pakistani general public, but he did build a huge brand and cult following around, no surprise he's the wealthiest pakistani player
Click to expand...
But he would have been a solid t20 player for this era though
 
He had achieved a lot, hence best part was when Misbah was jobless, Afridi gathered him with charity and one night he came to Toronto Canada! Misbah was walking behind Afridi. Loved it!
 
Underachievement is a harsh word for Shahid Afridi. He has played many iconic knocks, especially against India. Yeah, we can say that his stats should be more improved than they are but he is recognized as the guy who invented the approach to bash bowlers from ball number 1.
 
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