Shahid Afridi: the ultimate showman that cricket needs

Shahid Afridi stands tall as one of the biggest entertainment brands in cricket

“I try hard and I back myself…I just kept it simple, and it worked.”

One team scrapped to a mere 224 in their quota of 50 overs while the other crumbled for 98. And all of this happened because of one man.

On a track that did a bit, a 6′ 7″ giant bowled a spell that blew away the top order of the visiting team batting first. With the team struggling at 47/5, out came a man making his nth comeback to ODI cricket.

And then it happened.

A 55-ball blitzkrieg, that saw the most mysterious spinner in the world disappear into the stands. The innings of 76 runs contained 5 sixes and 6 fours, and that too on a track where the others struggled to even get the ball off the square.

It didn’t end there.

After pushing his team up to a respectable score, the comeback man rolled his arm over and ripped through the opposition to end up with the figures of 9-3-12-7.

You don’t make such a comeback to international cricket unless your name is Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi.

“I am still better than lots of players” - Shahid Afridi proclaimed in an interview after Pakistan’s dismal show at the Champions Trophy. He was handed a life-line by the selectors, and he came back storming to prove what he had said exactly.

There are cricketers, and then there are gifted cricketers. Shahid Afridi belongs to the second category. He is a member of that rare breed which the game craves for so fervently, and which the fans cheer for so passionately.

Playing his 2nd ODI and his first innings, a 16-year and some days old, Shahid Afridi marched in to blast the reigning world champions for the fastest ever century to be scored in ODI cricket. The 37-balls bombastic display left the cricket world stung with amazement, and that innings kick-started a career that promised tons, but delivered only a trifle.

But for the last 16 years, he has kept swinging. Most experts blame him for being fickle and erratic but for Shahid Afridi, things happened a little too fast. Fame was thrust on to a 16-year-old, and for the better part of his career, Shahid Afridi became a victim of unattainable expectations. Maybe it was because of his debut innings that the cricket world expected him put up a show each time he went out to bat.

However, on talent alone, he’s right up there with the best. He has hit more sixes in international cricket than anyone else and has the highest strike-rate among contemporary batsmen who have batted in at least 50 innings.

In the list of fastest ODI hundreds, his name makes three appearances in the top seven and in the list of fastest ODI fifties, he occupies five places in the top ten. Ranked eighth in the all-time list of ODI wickets, he sits above Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq and is only behind the two Ws from Pakistan.

Moreover, Afridi has won 36 international Man-of-the-Match awards and is way ahead of a few great names like Gilchrist and Muralitharan in this regard.

The traditional Afridi celebration

But Shahid Afridi is not about numbers or awards. He’s not about the hundreds he scores or the number of wickets he takes. To tag him as just a mere all-rounder will not do justice to the man who steals the limelight on a cricket field with his sheer presence and indomitable style.

He is a big match player and knows how to seize the big moment. In 2009, he helped Pakistan win the World T20 title, with startling performances in the semifinals and finals. In 2011, he carried his scandal-hit team to the semifinal of the World Cup only to be let down by some horrible fielding from his mates against India.

What makes Shahid Afridi different is his attitude. The Afridi tribe of Pakistan belongs to the rough and rocky terrain overlapping Afghanistan and Pakistan. The tribe is famous for their fierceness, gallantry and audacious war skills. Shahid Afridi carries that DNA into his game.

He wears his heart on his sleeve and plays the game with that same intensity. He wages a war on the field and hence, never fails to entertain. He embodies the reasons why Pakistan needs cricket. In a war-stricken country where context and sense are often pushed to the fringes by the proximity of the conflict and confrontation, Shahid Afridi is a symbol of machismo, valour and true heroism.

That’s what makes him one of the most talked about cricketers in the world.

Shahid Afridi is a terribly misunderstood man, and in the eyes of many experts, he is overrated, hyped and irresponsible. For most, he is a spoilt brat who hardly possesses a “copybook” technique, who gave up Tests in favour of limited overs version and is most famous for his ridiculously single-minded objective to hit every single ball he faces into the stands.

But that’s Shahid Afridi. That’s his thing, and that’s what he does best. He irks the pundits but inspires the common man. A true entertainer to the core, he is an insane cocktail of glamour and talent that never ceases to surprise. A unique blend of irrationality, agitated intensity, severe competitiveness and infectious passion, Shahid Afridi is one of those few characters who add a new dimension to the game itself.

You kick him, he replies with a slap; you knock him down, he retaliates with a purpose. Test cricket didn’t accept him, and he didn’t bother for approval. He never tried to be a Jacques Kallis. Neither did he claim to be an Imran Khan. He has neither that tenacity nor does he possess that zeal, but no one can deny that this charismatic cricketer is a special player who certainly knows how to capture the imagination at the biggest stage.

He is a man who creates inspiration and excitement out of thin air. He has the soul of an entertainer. He is unapologetic and plays the game with the sole purpose of entertaining. That’s why his scores don’t matter, his failures don’t count, and Shahid Afridi continues to be Shahid Afridi!