Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (; born 1980), popularly as Shahid "Boom Boom" Afridi, is a former Pakistani cricketer and former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. As a successful All-rounder, Afridi was respected for his consistent bowling that relies on change of pace rather than spin, but drew greater attention for his aggressive batting style.[8][9] Afridi was the world record holder for the fastest ODI century in 37 deliveries and holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi |
| Born | 1 March 1980 Khyber, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan |
| Nickname | Boom Boom Afridi, Lala[1] |
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Right arm leg spin |
| Role | All-rounder |
| Relations | Javed Afridi (Cousin) |
Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 350 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is leading the chart of most T20I wickets with 92 wickets from 92 matches.[11] He also holds a record of taking most wickets (97) and most player-of-the match awards in Twenty20 International cricket.[12]
Afridi is a philanthropist and owner of the Shahid Afridi Foundation. In 2015, Afridi was named among the top 20 most charitable athletes in the world by Do Something.[14]
On 19 February 2017, Afrdi announced his retirement from international cricket.
Background
Afridi was born on 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. He is from the Afridi tribeof Pashtuns. He is cousin of Javed Afridi, CEO of Haier Pakistan.[6][13] Afridi is married to Nadia Afridi and has four daughters: Aqsa, Ansha, Ajwa and Asmara.[17]
International career
 |
| Afridi with his teammates during the 2009 World Twenty20 in June 2009 |
In October 1996 at age 16, 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.[18][19] He made his debut on 2 October against Kenya; however, he didn't bat and went wicketless.[20] 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.[21][nb 1] Aged 16 years and 217 days, Afridi became the youngest player to score an ODI century.[23] Pakistan posted a total of 371, at the time the second-highest in ODIs, and won by 82 runs; Afridi was named man of the match.[21] The record for fastest century in ODI was broken by New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson on 1 January 2014 who hit 131* runs from 36 balls and is now held by South-African cricketer AB de Villiers who made a century from 31 balls on 18 January 2015 against West Indies.[24]
Two years after appearing on the international scene, Afridi made his Test debut in the third game of a three-match series against Australia on 22 October 1998.[25] By this point he had already played 66 ODIs, at the time a record before playing Tests.[26] He opened the batting, making scores of 10 and 6, and took five wickets in the first innings.[25] He played his second Test the following January during Pakistan's tour of India; it was the first Test between the two countries since 1990.[27] Again opening the batting, Afridi scored his maiden Test century, scoring 141 runs from 191 balls. In the same match he also claimed three wickets for 54 runs.[28] After winning the first match by 12 runs, Pakistan lost the second to draw the series.
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.[53] 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.[54] Later Afridi pleaded guilty to ball tampering and he was banned from two Twenty20 internationals.[55]
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.[56] In July 2010, Afridi captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series at Lord's against Australia. He scored 31 off 15 deliveries in the first innings and 2 in the second but was dismissed succumbing to rash strokes in both the innings. After the match, he announced retirement from Test cricket again citing lack of temperament for Test cricket as the reason.[57] Afridi was officially removed from the Test squad on the England tour, but after the spot-fixing scandal saw Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Test captain Salman Butt temporarily suspended by the International Cricket Council, he stated that he might return to Test cricket if "the team needs it".[58] According to a representative of Afridi, he had voiced his concerns about Mazhar Majeed – who had approached Pakistan's players – in June.[59] Majeed also confirmed that he approached Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Saeed Ajmal but all off them refused to be affiliated with him of his fixing menace. Worth mentioning is that the four names given above were not associated in the original scandal and that no disciplinary action have been taken against them by the sports governing body the International Cricket Council.[60]
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tied | No result | |
| Test[62] | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 0 | – |
| ODI[63] | 398 | 218 | 170 | – | 1 | 9 |
| T20I[64] | 80 | 48 | 31 | – | 1 | – |
In October, Afridi stated in an interview with Express News that the squad had been selected without his consultation; the PCB gave him an official warning for the interview.[65] Coach Waqar Younis also expressed his unhappiness at having no input in the selection; however, Mohsin Khan, the chief selector, defended the decision, stating, "it is not written down in the PCB constitution that the coach and captain(s) must have a say in the selection of any squad".[66] Pakistan lost the series 3–2.
The team toured New Zealand between December 2010 and February 2011 for two Tests, six ODIs, and three T20Is. Pakistan lost the first two T20Is but won the third; in final match Afridi became the first cricketer to reach 50 international wickets in the format.[67] In the same match, he also became the first cricketer to have completed the double of 500 runs and 50 wickets in the T20 Internationals.[68] When Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup was announced no captain was named; Afridi, the incumbent ODI captain and Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, were the front runners for the position.[69] Pakistan lost the first match against New Zealand by 8-wickets, the second match got rained out and in the third Mohammad Hafeez scored a century and Afridi scored a blistering 65 from just 25 balls. The following match was a tight game but Pakistan prevailed by two-wickets thanks to three boundaries from Sohail Tanvir, the match was set up by a 93 not out from Misbah-ul-Haq. The fifth ODI was won for Pakistan by 43 runs courtesy of a maiden ODI-century from Ahmed Shehzad. Afridi helped in the lower order by scoring 24 and taking two crucial top order wickets to help guide Pakistan to a 43-run victory and their first ODI series win in two years.Soon after the World Cup Pakistan toured the West Indies for a T20I, five ODIs, and two Tests. Pakistan lost the only T20I[78] but won the ODI series that followed 3–2.[79] Afridi took two wickets and scored 28 runs in the series.[80][81] The coach, Waqar Younis, fell out with Afridi and in his report on the tour criticised Afridi, saying "as a captain he is very immature, has poor discipline, lacks a gameplan and is unwilling to listen to others' opinions or advice".[82] After the series, on 19 May the PCB replaced Afridi as ODI captain with Misbah-ul-Haq for the two-match ODI series against Ireland later that month. In 34 ODIs as captain, Afridi led his side to 18 wins and 15 defeats.[83] Afridi subsequently withdrew from the touring squad, citing the illness of his father.
Conditional retirement and return (2011–2017)
On 30 May Afridi announced his conditional retirement from international cricket in protest against his treatment by the PCB. The condition on his return was that the board be replaced.[85] The PCB suspended Afridi's central contract, fined him 4.5 million rupees ($52,300), and revoked his no-objection certificate (NOC) which allowed Afridi to play for Hampshire. Afridi filed a petition with the Sindh High Court to overturn the sanctions. On 15 June, Afridi withdrew his petition after an out of court settlement and the PCB reinstated his NOC.[86] When the PCB's central contracts were renewed in August, Afridi's was allowed to lapse.[87] In October he withdrew his retirement as Ijaz Butt had been replaced as chairman of the PCB. [88] Two weeks after his announcement, Afridi was included in Pakistan's squad to face Sri Lanka in three ODIs and a T20I.[89] In November 2011, Afridi became the only cricketer to score a half-century and take five wickets on two separate occasions in ODIs.[90] Afridi achieved this feat in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka which helped Pakistan to secure the one-day series.[91] He also became the first person to score 50 in his 50th T20 International (he is the only one to have played 50 T20Is as of 9 July 2012). Afridi holds the most Player of the Match awards with 7, one above Sanath Jayasuriya and Kevin Pietersen who are both tied in 2nd place with 6.[68]
In 2013 during the first ODI game against the West Indies in Guyana, Afridi finished with figures of 7/12, the second best ODI bowling figures of all time.[92][93]
In July 2014, he played for the Rest of the World side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.[94]
Afridi announced his retirement from ODI cricket after 2015 Cricket World Cup. Pakistan lost to Australia in the quarter final and lost the tournament.
In March 2016, Pakistan was eliminated from the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 after losing to India, New Zealand and Australia. There were talks about this being Afridi's 'last Twenty20' and he said after the loss to Australia that he would think about retiring and announce it within a week.[95] On 3 April 2016, he announced he will not be retiring, but instead just step down as Twenty20 Captain.[96]
In September 2016, the PCB announced that they wanted Afridi to retire. Afridi said it was unfair for them to announce his plans in the media, but then said he wanted a farewell match, which didn't happen as a result of him cancelling a meeting regarding the issue with the PCB.[97]
In 2017, Afridi announced that he quit international cricket after 21 years, saying he would continue to play domestic T20 for another 2 years before retiring.
Playing style
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.[111] 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.[112] 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. 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.[113] Afridi is the only player in the world who has scored 1,000 runs and 50 wickets in the T20 format of the game.[114] 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.[115]
On 22 August 2017, in his 256th Twenty20 match,[116] Afridi hit his first century in the format, scoring 101 for Hampshire in the 2017 NatWest t20 Blast against Derbyshire.[117]
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.[6] Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, but 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.[115] 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.[118] 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).[119] 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.
Other records
- Holds the record for taking the most number of wickets as captain in T20Is (40)[125]
- Holds the record for the best bowling figures as captain in a T20I (4–14)[126]
- Most runs conceded by a bowler in his T20I career (2362)[127]
- Holds the record for taking the most number of T20I wickets when playing at away soil (29)[128]
- The first ever player to score a hat-trick in 10-over format for Pakhtoons vs Maratha Arabians [3–19 (2.0)]; 2017 T10 Cricket League.
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