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In Defense of Afridi
By Tabrez Janjua for Stani Army in Pakistan Cricket
37 ViewsIt’s not often the words “defense” and “Afridi” go together in a sentence unless of course it begins with “Where is your” and ends in a question mark but here we talk about defending his inclusion after his poor form with the bat. In the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Afridi did not manage to get a bat and in the second, scored just 14. In the press conference afterwards, captain Shoaib Malik was asked about Afridi’s form and justified his inclusion by pointing to his bowling saying, “Afridi bowls well especially in difficult stages of a match”.
One cannot argue with this. Afridi normally comes on when a break through is needed and duely obliges. In my opinion his inclusion could be justified just on his bowling, fielding and energy that he brings. It’s obvious that his good innings are few and far between yet when they do come off, are normally match winning and record setting. With this in mind, I think that a positive batting performance from Afridi in any particular match should be taken as a bonus keeping in mind that he almost always performs in the field and with the ball.
With consideration to the above point, I feel Afridi should be coming higher up in the the order so as to give him a chance. If his innings comes off then nine times out of ten Pakistan win, if it doesn’t come off then at least he had a go and we didn’t die wondering. What we cannot have is situations where by the time Afridi gets in the match is well beyond grasp as was the case in the second ODI where he came in at seven, with not only run getting to worry about but also the marshaling of the strike with only the tail for support. How is he meant to have a go then? He must be given more of a chance.
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January 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 am
I agree that Afridi should be put up the order but I think most people would just like to see him perform with the bat more regularly. He can be very frustrating.
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 am
Yes, I would have Afridi in the side all the time too. I think it’s precisely because of his bad performances with the bat that he has had to almost force himself to develop another skill i.e bowling.
He is quite underrated in that department I think. The trouble with Afridi coming up the order is he can’t play the new ball.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:01 am
I don’t know about that Underarm. I was looking at his stats on cricinfo.com and his not that different when he’s facing the new ball compared to when he’s not. I agree with the writer…he should be promoted, if it comes off then good, if it don’t then doesn’t matter.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 am
You must be joking. The guy has had enough chances, he’s simple [awful]. Bring back Imran Nazir!
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:35 am
Sialkotstallion, I have edited your comment. No bad language here please.
Administrator
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:38 am
SORRRY!! I forgot which blog I was on. I will be clean from now on I promise.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:53 am
Apology accepted and stop visiting those other blogs!
Administrator
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I say we make him captain!!!
January 27th, 2009 at 3:09 am
Although he does not always perform to the best of his capabilities, the times when he does amaze, are simply breathtaking!! They definately remind me why i love the game. He can bring a turnaround to a game in an instant!! im suprised that he hasnt been put up in the batting order after all these years…it wouldnt be a bad thing to try him out higher up…i guess they like to save the best (show) til last!
January 27th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Yes undercoversis….I get the feeling maybe it is his prefereance to come in lower down the order; even still, the management should insist he comes in sooner rather than later.
Take Imran Nazir as example. He opens in the ICL for the Badshahs. If his innings comes off then the match is over but if it doesn’t then the rest of the batsmen know what to do. Afridi should be playing this role.
No other player in the world can make an attendance turn half in number just because of the loss of his wicket. May be this is why he’s kept to the end…..to keep the people watching
)
January 31st, 2009 at 6:10 pm
afridi is a decent bowler, to say his bowling alone gets him in the team i would just about agree but i feel there are many spinners that could do his job. if you play a specialist spinner on a regular basis u know what your going to get whereas afrid on occasions has looked a bit ordinary. if he fails with his bowling his batting becomes key however how many times have we seen afridi fail with bat, on countless occasions.
January 31st, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I see what you are saying uzair but these other spinners dont have the potential to play the innings afridi does….yes they may be few and far between but we rather have that possibility than not.
January 31st, 2009 at 6:31 pm
i see what you are saying chunkylafunga (nice name). you say we’d rather have the possibilty than not but i consider him a bowler and only a bowler. his batting is a big disaster and his form over the past 3-4 years has been shocking.
i would say his average is between 10-15 and i wouldnt be surprised if it was less than that. thats why i say having a specialist bowler than a part timer is a better choice. we always expect him to come off but he never does. thats the problem.
when it does come off we all think yes his going to deliver on a regular basis, but throughout his career how many times has he delivered on a regular basis and delivered when the team is down and out.?
NEVER. i would either choose a specialist bowler or batter and you know what your going to get.
January 31st, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Thanks about the name….it was my mum, she has a unique sense of humour !
But Uzair, even if you consider him just a bowler, you cannot deny the possibilty of a innings from him is still there.
You are contradicting yourself though because above you said you would “just” agree in having in the team on his bowling alone.
I disagree that picking a specialist bowler or batsmen will mean that you will know what you get….a specialst batsmen may be more reliable than Afridi, but a specialist bowler will be just as effective or less than him but will not come with the possibilty of a match changing innings..
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Shahid afridi is an exceptional batsmen. However at times his head is not in the right frame of mind and then begins to let loose the canon and starts firing sixes and fours without analysing the current situation.