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

Happy Birthday Lala! The only player who didnt listen to Misbah and said screw tuktuk and he will go smash sixes! He also took Misbah with him to his charity when misbah was jobless! No one has replaced him in Pakistan cricket
 
in a parellel universe shahid is an ATG test all rounder. his game was made to be a test number 6 and a second leggie whilst pak were playing their home games in the UAE. crazy to think pak produced mavericks like him in the 90s, whereas thirty years later pak are struggling to produce even one batsmen who can hit. what a fall from grace.
 
All the talent in the world but underachieved big time. Only able to achieve big things in T20I cricket.
 
He is making rondhu indians cry again. Hahah
The fear instilled in these indians by this guy haunts these rondhu indians to this day.

He keeps making them cry. Hahah
He is a legend for that.
 
MenInG said:
Happy Birthday Lala!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1630850242663915520

==

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?
Click to expand...
Underachieved for sure, he refused to do the hard work (refusing to play tests was one of them). Whenever his team needed him to stay at the wicket, to play with caution, he did the opposite. His impatience cost his team plenty, he was a bit selfish that way. Calling himself a bowling allrounder was a convenient excuse to divert justified criticism of his attitude with the bat. He was not in the side as a bowler, his fame wasn't for his bowling. It was his batting that he was known for.
 
He can easily makes any t20 eleven in world today if he is in prime today....Great t20 bowler, gun fielder, good pinch hitter...
 
cricketAXEpert said:
Underachieved for sure, he refused to do the hard work (refusing to play tests was one of them). Whenever his team needed him to stay at the wicket, to play with caution, he did the opposite. His impatience cost his team plenty, he was a bit selfish that way. Calling himself a bowling allrounder was a convenient excuse to divert justified criticism of his attitude with the bat. He was not in the side as a bowler, his fame wasn't for his bowling. It was his batting that he was known for.
Click to expand...

He bacame a good bowler later on.

Ended up with almost 400 ODI wickets.
 
Yeah, he underachieved, but he did some great things in his career that cover that up.
 
Rohit sharma is on the verge of breaking a long standing Shahid Afridi record - the most (total) number of sixes in ODI cricket.

Afridi has 351 and Rohit is on 349. Can he overtake Afridi today?
 
Sachin fan said:
Rohit sharma is on the verge of breaking a long standing Shahid Afridi record - the most (total) number of sixes in ODI cricket.

Afridi has 351 and Rohit is on 349. Can he overtake Afridi today?
Click to expand...
Rohit Sharma has overtaken Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi for the most sixes in ODI cricket.

He now sits at the top with 352* sixes, surpassing Boom Boom Afridi’s long-standing record.
 
Shahid Afridi speaking during an interview:

“Records are meant to be broken, and this too is now bettered. I am happy that a player whom I have always liked has broken this record.”

“My record of fastest century stood for nearly 18 years, but it was finally broken, so records are set by one player and another player comes and breaks it. This is cricket.”

“I played alongside Rohit for the Deccan Chargers in my only Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2008, and at that time, I liked him.”

“During practice sessions of the Charges, I watched him bat, and his class impressed me. I knew that one day Rohit would play for India, and he has proved himself as a classy batter.”
 
Definitely an overachiever – was 19 for a number of years, even chewed the ball to perform and had excellent dance moves on the cricket pitch .
 
Had his flaws but he was right to oppose Misbah as captain prior to the 2015 World Cup.

This is why the biggest Misbah fans, Major, daytrader and etc hate this guy.
 
topspin said:
Had his flaws but he was right to oppose Misbah as captain prior to the 2015 World Cup.

This is why the biggest Misbah fans, Major, daytrader and etc hate this guy.
Click to expand...

Not a Misbah fan but will like to reply to this post anyway.

The problem with Afridi is that he never grew up mentally.

As any human being it is fine to enjoy life in your early 20s but life as a sportsperson demands constant evolution once you cross that early milestone. His made his debut in the 90s & did a few things that helped him establish himself as an instant star. This was the era of the last of true greats of Pakistan and he really didn't need to do too much or too consistently after that to continue getting the adoration of the public. Even with an average contribution of 10-1-49-1, & 14(11) Pak could win the match against tougher teams on the back of other match winners. But after the retirements of these legends, we needed him to step up and become a dressing room leader & he refused to do so. This directly impacted Pak teams performance on the field & our brand value nosedived.

The man walked out of test captaincy because it was "too boring" for him. Props to him for being honest about it but that's a once in a lifetime opportunity that you have to build something special & he just let it all go because he couldn't be bothered about it. That led to the chain of events that ended up getting Amir, Asif, & Butt banned for spot fixing. Then later on he came to the media and said there were many suspicious activities taking place at that time. He had the star power, power, & opportunity to take Pak cricket forward but failed to do so. He also could raise a flag and people would have believed him & rallied behind him but he just enjoyed the entire episode like a bystander & was happy to collect his cheques. This hurts extra because 2000s was the time when India was laying down the foundation for becoming a great team while we were busy in self sabotages & vision less thinking. Can say a lot more here, but won't.

His white ball career also stagnated in terms of his batting. He did have the ability to hit & it probably is with him to this day but he never became a cornerstone of the team. Matches like the semi final in Mohali were a chance for him to establish his name in Pak folklore but he went missing with the bat. Most of his good bowling performances also came against weaker teams and in inconsequential matches and that's why he doesn't get the peer respect from the opposition. Do you remember his best bowling performance of his ODI career without using google? Meanwhile we can still remember Inzis innings in the 92' world cup, or Sarfraz against Sri Lanka in champions trophy, etc.

In terms of T20s, he also follows the same pattern as in the ODIs (image of ODI performance attached). The only difference is that he was a total flop against India in T20s with both bat and ball. This was the time when his peers left him behind even in big hitting. He could hit it, but he didn't do it frequently enough. Gayle may have a lower career strike rate but he became a name synonymous to big hitting, so many others like Dhoni, UV, Reina, AB, Symonds, McCullum, Guptill, Hussey, etc. were hitting sixes but also staying at the crease. He performed in 2009 to a degree with the bat & ball but post that exception to the norm he was back to his mediocre best. Let's take 2010 T20 world cup for example, a proper spin paradise, so much so & it's hard to believe when I say that but a certain blonde leg spinner named Steve Smith was the 3rd highest wicket taker of this tournament. Afridi was nowhere to be seen (4 wickets at 45, 91 runs at 15) & an eventual heartbreak that kind of summed up his T20 career as well.

Pak public adored him but that shouldn't be any litmus test of his cricketing stature. The public is even standing behind Babar currently when it's visible to everyone who isn't part of the bobby bubble that in his current avatar, he's part of the problem and not the solution.

Also, if you breakdown his stats in ODIs, it's obvious that he was a solid minnow basher.

6 centuries, only one against NZ & that too in Sharjah.
A 60+ ODI bowling average against India over a sample size of 67 matches.
Net negative Average difference against all major teams.

This is a career that almost lasted 22 years (to be fair to him, he did retire from ODIs after 2015 world cup)

I have also, personally, supported Afridi in his playing days but now when I look back at his career, it's just mediocrity wrapped up in a good wavy hairstyle. He did have longevity & good fitness but he never stepped up to become a proper player & become an icon.

p.s. Just look at his impact in the next generation as well. Watch U19 world cup and see who these young players want to emulate & none of them even from Pak ever pick him despite him being an int'l player until 2018 & PSL even after that. Then look at players like AB, Stokes, & see how many young kids want to emulate them.

p.s. I'm not breaking down his T20 stats. They are almost the same as his ODI stats

p.s. His test stats are good because he played well against India on a couple of occasions & even ended up winning two tests on Indian soil which is a solid achievement. For that reason, I will always have a little respect for him but my disappointment in him will always be greater than my respect for him. To me, he was a decently gifted player who just didn't care enough to improve himself as a cricketer.

1769799691837.png
 
Adam Zampa spoke about his all-time favorite Pakistani player:

"Shahid Afridi was one of my childhood favorites. More than his leg-spin, I admired his fearless and aggressive approach with the bat. He was a truly charismatic entertainer, and his leg-spin was just as impressive."
 
Cricket Warrior said:
Adam Zampa spoke about his all-time favorite Pakistani player:

"Shahid Afridi was one of my childhood favorites. More than his leg-spin, I admired his fearless and aggressive approach with the bat. He was a truly charismatic entertainer, and his leg-spin was just as impressive."
Click to expand...
Not calling you a liar, but can you provide a link?
 
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