Shahid Afridi’s 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 Pakistan 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.
When Afridi stepped in for the first One-day International against Sri Lanka in the recent series he became the most capped ODI player for Pakistan with 379 matches, surpassing former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq’s record of 378 appearances.
He is now behind only Sachin Tendulkar (463), Sanath Jayasuriya (445) and Mahela Jayawardene (422).
Former captain Wasim Akram is the only other Pakistani to have played more than 300 ODIs.
There are only 17 players in the international circuit who have played more than 300 matches.
Sri Lankans are on top with six players, Indians four, Pakistanis three, Australians two and South Africans two. There is no player from South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh in this club.
Afridi is the only player in ODI history to have scored more than 7,500 runs and taken 350 plus wickets. The only other player to have taken 300-plus wickets and scored 7000-plus runs in ODIs is Sanath Jayasuriya.
Thrice has Afridi taken five wickets and scored 50 in an ODI. This is something that no other player has ever done.
Afridi has maintained a strike rate of more than 100 runs almost throughout his career.
Afridi is only the fourth Pakistani bowler to have taken over 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 77 wickets. The top two wicket-takers are also Pakistanis: Saeed Ajmal (85) and Umar Gul (80).
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.
After some poor performances, Afridi was dropped from the Champions Trophy 2013 squad. But Pakistan lost all three group matches and Afridi made his comeback in the West Indies tour last year where he announced his return with a match-winning all-round performance. First, he smashed 76 off just 55 balls with the help of five sixes and six fours after Pakistan had collapsed to 47-5.
Then he became a hero when in the Asia Cup, against India, he won the game for Pakistan with two consecutive sixes off the bowling of R 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. This enabled Pakistan to achieve their highest-ever run chase in ODIs.
Afridi also holds the record for most sixes in ODIs. He has hit 333 sixes so far. Jayasuriya with 270 sixes is a distant second. Among the current players his nearest is Chris Gayle with 209 sixes.
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 his batting skills 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. He shot to international fame in only his second ODI, when he scored the fastest 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, which prompted former Indian all-rounder Ravi Shastri to call him ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi.
NOTE: All statistics are updated up to the second ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Hambantota.