He hoicked the second ball he faced in one-day international cricket for a gigantic six over mid-wicket. He hit a record ten more sixes in that innings to complete the fastest century off just 37 deliveries and set the Nairobi Gymkhana Ground in Kenya ablaze. Today he holds the record for the most number of sixes (215) in ODIs. Ofcourse it’s none other than Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, popularly known as Shahid Afridi.

Afridi is an extremely strong ‘bottom-handed’ player. Arguably the strongest hitter in world cricket, He hits the cricket ball tremendously hard and sensationally long. A semi-slog over deep mid-wicket qualified with minimal feet movement and where the ball lands in the ‘car park’ can now been termed as an ‘Afridi’ shot. An Afridi chef-d’oeuvre is full of flamboyance, courage, power and oodles of histrionics.

Shahid made his ODI debut as a 16-year old against Kenya at Nairobi in 1996. He was actually in the team as a leg-spinner who could bat. But the gamble by the former Pakistan captain, Saeed Anwar, to send him at number three in his second match turned out to be a masterstroke. Afridi is much uncomplicated when it comes to batting. In fact in an era where the game is subject to so much evaluation and dissection, Afridi borrowed Waqar Younis’ bat to score that breathtaking record century.

But the going was tough for such an unpredictable character. Afridi is predominantly a leg-side player. He is also prone to playing across the line and this has too often brought about his undoing as it has made him a strong ‘lbw’ and ‘bowled’ candidate. Consequently, Afridi has been a regular in-and-out commodity for the Pakistan team. It’s a shame that the selectors and the management made a hash of such exciting talent. Asking Afridi to open the innings and counter the ‘moving’ ball was nonsensical. You don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Afridi, on his day, could pulverize and decimate the opposition in no time. Pakistan should have used him as a ‘finisher’, an ideology which is being used now – nine years after he made his debut. He should certainly have shelved his propensity to try to smash every ball but it was also the job of the management to sculpt such exceptional talent. Sir Geoffrey Boycott once quipped that a ‘chocolate mousse’ has more brains than Afridi. Afridi was psychotic but most people at eighteen are just that! The management should have taken cognizance.

Today we see a revamped Afridi. Since 2005 he has been in consistent form. In April 2005 he pummeled India into submission when he slammed a 45-ball hundred (second-fastest century in ODIs) at Kanpur to win the match for Pakistan. Afridi took the Indian bowling to the sword as Lakhsmipathy Balaji was carted for 23 runs in a single over. He was belligerent reducing the Indian bowling to smithereens. It was exhilarating batting that earned him the title of ‘Boom Boom Afridi’.

Afridi has been eccentric and never shy of controversies. On 21st November 2005, he was banned for a test match and two ODIs for deliberately damaging the pitch during the second test match against England. TV cameras caught him ‘roughing’ the pitch with his boots as play was held up after a gas canister exploded just behind the boundary rope at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. On 12th April 2006, Afridi announced temporary retirement from test cricket till the 2007 World Cup. However, within a fortnight, he reversed the decision after much discussion with the PCB Chairman Shaharyar M. Khan and coach Bob Woolmer. Such queer and aberrant conduct is a part of Shahid Khan Afridi.

His much improved leg-spin and hard-hitting batting make him one of the leading allrounders in world cricket. He, undeniably is special. As Michael Holding puts it,
‘Cricket is not cricket without Shahid Afridi’.

© Copyright 2006. PointCricket.