Shahid Afridi and his Pakistani side must be justifiably proud of their performance in the recently concluded ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Not only did they confound expectations by defeating pre-tournament favourites Sri Lanka in the latter's home territory, they also earned the honour of ending the defending champion Australia's 12-year unbeaten run at the World Cup. Coming on the back of arguably the most difficult 12-month period in the history of Pakistan cricket, it is indeed remarkable that this apparently ramshackle unit was able to reach the semi-finals, and that as group leaders. In doing so, they fared considerably better than their much vaunted predecessors of 2003 and 2007.
In a wide-ranging and exclusive post-World Cup discussion with , the Pakistan ODI and T20 captain discussed issues related to the World Cup 2011, talked about his development as a player over the past 15 years and looked ahead towards his own future and that of Pakistani cricket in general. Employing his characteristic honesty and his trademark wit, Shahid Afridi provided forthright and even blunt answers to some probing questions from the team.
The use of the Batting Powerplay
Whereas Afridi’s captaincy and on field demeanour were generally lauded during the recently concluded edition of the ICC World Cup, the Pakistan team’s strategy vis-à-vis batting powerplays often left their followers perplexed.
In particular, in the all-important semi-final encounter with India, it is felt that Pakistan’s poorly strategised use of the batting powerplay was a significant factor in the team’s defeat. When asked about the timing of the powerplay, Afridi agreed that his team had not used powerplays to good effect, stating that ”We need to learn how to utilise the batting powerplay".
The Pakistan skipper, to his credit, was clear for the reason behind this and suggested that serious thought was being given to remedy this problem by the team think tank.
“Quite a few teams have faced problems in regards to the batting powerplay. For us, when we take the batting powerplay, we start losing wickets, so then we thought it’s probably best to delay the powerplay and take it right at the end to avoid losing wickets earlier. I do realise we have this problem. The Coach and I have discussed this in detail and hopefully we will see some better results on this in the upcoming series in the West Indies” he assured.
Afridi on his bowling form
Shahid Afridi was truly inspirational with the ball in his hand during the World Cup and thus, deservedly took a lot of praise for Pakistan’s impressive performances. He finished as the joint highest wicket-taker at the tournament alongside India’s paceman, Zaheer Khan, despite the latter playing one more game. Grabbing 21 wickets at an average of 12.85, Afridi surpassed Wasim Akram as Pakistan’s all-time highest wicket-taker at a single World Cup.
Afridi’s batting may well be on a downward spiral, but it is his bowling that has been one of the more talked-about topics in cricket over the past few years. Commenting on his bowling form, Pakistan’s current exponent of the art of leg-spin stated “For the past three or four years, I am a bowling all-rounder. I have focused a lot on my bowling in this period and Alhamdolillah it has worked well”.
On his batting form
Shahid Afridi continually bamboozled the batsmen at the World Cup with his lethal leg-spin bowling. However, he struggled to get runs throughout the tournament as his highest individual score remained a paltry 20 runs which he scored against Canada. Known as “Boom Boom Afridi” for his batting prowess, he failed to meet the expectations of his hundreds of thousands of fans around the globe who longed for a thrilling display of batting from him. He was also heavily censured for preferring to bat lower down the order instead of taking responsibility by coming in to bat higher up the order.
According to the man himself, he is happy to play the role of a “floater” batsman. Commenting on his batting position, the flamboyant cricketer stated “I should use my batting according to the situation. There should be no set position for me.”
The dashing all-rounder remains unfazed by the criticism of his batting in recent times and is looking to make the most of the upcoming series to regain his touch with the bat. “Definitely, there is criticism and I always take the criticism positively. The West Indies tour and the Zimbabwe tour are good series for me to regain my batting form, for me to perform well with the bat and the ball. I acknowledge that recently I may not have worked as hard on my batting as I should have, but I have addressed that”.
Playing under different Captains and Coaches
Shahid Afridi is the most experienced of all players in Pakistan’s present squad. In his 15-year career, he has played under several captains, as Pakistan change their leaders more often than most other teams. Afridi thus is ideally placed to appraise the various Pakistani skippers since the mid-1990s, selecting three as ones who stood out.
“I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. And my performance was good too. Moin bhaiwas also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the three captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot", he stated.
When it came to naming the coach who inspired him the most, Afridi could not look past the late Bob Woolmer. Describing the Englishman as the “best coach” he had, Afridi in particular was full of praise for Woolmer’s ability to motivate the players and boost their confidence level. “Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn’t performing, Bob Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one’s spirits didn’t fall and the player wouldn’t get demoralized. That was a great quality in him, as players do need that,” he added.
The Highs and Lows of his career
From being labelled as a swashbuckling hard-hitting batsman to being hailed as Pakistan’s front-line spinner, Shahid Afridi has come a long way. Few international cricketers have gone through more ups and downs than the player labelled 'Boom Boom' by his millions appreciative Pakistani fans.
Describing these highs and lows as “part of cricket”, Afridi went on to declare the period under Bob Woolmer’s supervision as the highlight of his career. Commenting on his performance ever since he accepted captaincy, Afridi said “Since becoming captain, there have been two or three tours where I personally took on added responsibility and played well, and those were the tours I enjoyed most.”
Pakistan cricket team is second to none when it comes to controversies and scandals. As a player, Shahid Afridi has battled through many blows that have hit his career over the years. In his opinion, the worst lows are “when groups and cliques stand up against you and are trying to remove you! Leading the Pakistan team is very difficult.”
The 37-ball hundred
Afridi took the world by storm, smashing the fastest century in the history of ODI cricket in his first-ever international innings, in just his second international appearance. That remarkable record has withstood the test of time and stands to this day. Although he was drafted into the team for his bowling skills, it was his fearless stroke-play that earned him the status of a crowd-puller. Till date, fans expect a similar display of aggressive batting each time he comes to the crease. Such expectations naturally put Afridi under enormous pressure which he often struggles to cope with.
Many experts believe that it would have been better for Pakistan had Afridi not scored that blistering hundred against Sri Lanka in 1996. However, the mercurial cricketer emphatically disagreed “If I didn’t make that 100, the Afridi you see today, wouldn’t be here!”
Test captaincy
Despite having a somewhat healthy Test career, Shahid Afridi never seemed to be very enthusiastic about the longest version of the game and gave up on the format in 2006 to give his full concentration on his LOI career. He announced his return to Test cricket in May 2010 as the PCB appointed him the captain for the tour of England. However, he officially declared retirement from Test cricket following his team’s defeat in the very first Test match of the series. His decision received its fair share of criticism, with observers labelling it as the ‘right decision at a wrong time’. Afridi believes that he did not make a mistake by relinquishing his Test career for Tests did not suit his temperament.
“My decision was absolutely the right one. I don’t think I am a Test-temperament player, hence it’s best that instead of me, players more suited to Test cricket are selected” he opined.
Critics believe that he should not have returned to the Test arena and accepted the role of a captain if he was not sure of his future in the longest version of the game. Afridi admits that he accepted the captaincy against his own will. “I didn’t want to accept, but I was under pressure to accept it. I was advised that the unit that I had built [in LOIs] should be continued in Tests too – I didn’t want to back-out or let the team down. The team was going through a difficult phase and we were trying to re-build the team [hence I accepted]” he revealed.
“However, I had made it clear that if I didn’t enjoy it, I would leave. I should not have quit after that first Test, but I realized that Test cricket is not for me” he concluded.
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