In the world of cricket today, no player is a bigger crowd-puller than our own all-rounder Shahid Afridi. When Boom Boom steps in the ground, the spectators are on their feet, ready to cheer his displays of big-hitting. And when Afridi bowls, the team and the viewers hope to get a breakthrough.
When Australia’s Glenn Maxwell was in full swing against Pakistan in the ICC World Twenty20 match last week, it was Shahid Afridi who provided the breakthrough. It was a memorable wicket for Afridi -- his 500th international wicket.
He became only the fourth Pakistani bowler to take 500 international wickets, following in the footsteps of Wasim Akram (916 wickets), Waqar Younis (789) and Imran Khan (544).
In the Twenty20 format, Afridi is the third highest wicket-taker, with 75 wickets. The top two wicket-takers are also Pakistani: Saeed Ajmal (83) and Umar Gul (77).
Thrice has Afridi taken five wickets and scored 50 in a match in ODIs. No other player has done so more than once.
After some poor performances, Afridi was dropped from the Champions Trophy 2013 squad. But Pakistan lost all three group matches. Afridi made his comeback in the West Indies tour last year and celebrated his return with a match-winning all-round performance.
First, he smashed 76 off 55 balls with the help of five huge sixes and six fours after Pakistan had collapsed to 47-5.
Afridi again became a hero when in the Asia Cup against India he won the game for Pakistan with two consecutive sixes off Ashwin in the last over. He didn’t stop there and in the next game, against hosts Bangladesh, played a match-winning knock of 59 off just 25 balls, striking seven sixes and two fours, to help Pakistan achieve their highest ever chase in ODIs.
Afridi seems to have matured in the last few years and his performance as a bowler has been better than his batting. The fan club of Afridi is happy for his recent performances. His involvement in the game is never in question but critics say that he doesn’t play up to his potential and that Afridi’s career statistics do not indicate anything extraordinary. But Afridi’s importance to Pakistani cricket is unmatched. Not only is he a skillful player, he is also the biggest star in the Pakistani dressing room. It is Afridi’s star power that can fill up a stadium.
Afridi is the only player in ODI history to score over 7500 runs and take 350 plus wickets. The only other player to take 300-plus wickets and score 7000-plus runs in ODIs is Sanath Jayasuriya.
Afridi also holds the record for most sixes in ODIs. He has hit 333 sixes so far. His nearest competitor is Sanath Jayasuriya with 270 sixes, while Chris Gayle has 204 maximums.
Afridi made his ODI debut on October 2, 1996, against Kenya in Nairobi. He conceded 32 runs in 10 overs without taking a wicket and did not get a chance to show what he could do with the bat as he was at No 9 in the order and Pakistan won the game by four wickets.
But he did not have to wait for long. Afridi shot to international fame in only his second ODI, when he scored the fastest ODI hundred off just 37 deliveries against Sri Lanka. The record was broken after 17 years when New Zealand’s Corey Anderson hit a century off 36 balls against West Indies.
Afridi shares the record for the third fastest ODI century with Brian Lara. He scored this ton off 45 balls in April 2005 and resulted in former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri giving him the nickname of ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi.