Pakistan---And Cricket
Pakistan is regarded as one of the most unpredictable side in all the three formats of the game. Be it on the loosing side by giving away the easiest of matches or be it on the winning side by thrashing the opposing side in one of the most unexpected ways you can think of. Pakistan can never be taken lightly especially in the field of cricket no matter what the reason is, Pakistan will always be in the limelight of almost everything. From the players being involved in spot fixing, to the keeper running away from the hotel, to the team reaching to the World Cup semi final, to the unexpected change in captaincy and to whatever extent you can imagine but still you just cannot exclude Pakistan from any PART of cricket.
Now moving on towards that what were the major reasons for the removal of one of the most successful captain’s i.e Shahid Khan Afridi who commonly is known as BOOM BOOM even though he performed great as a captain to take the Pakistanis to the World cup semifinal. Afridi not only took the team to the semi finals in the world cup but also took Pakistan to very close finishes to the ODI series against England and South Africa even though that was the moment when Pakistan was in 1) a restructuring mode, 2) Had the new spot fixing scandal on them, and lastly Pakistan wicket keeper Haider had run away from the hotel. He was the man who brought the team together and now when you see the same team performing under another captain, we give the credit to Misbah-ul-Haq. Why?Shahid Afridi may be unpredictable but is a brave leader, who has not only performed as a captain but also as a player, not forgetting that he was the highest wicket taker in the world cup.
Records by Afridi:
1) The World’s fastest ODI century
2) He has hit sixes more than any player in ODI cricket
3) Most amount of sixes combined in all the three formats
4) He has the highest strike rate than any other batsmen
5) The Youngest ODI batsmen to score a century
6) The 10th highest wicket taker of all time in ODI cricket
7) The highest wicket taker in T20
These are some of the records he holds worldwide where as there are even more of them for just Pakistan. So all this proves him to be one of the biggest asset to the Pakistani team.
BOOM BOOM PAKISTAN….!!!!
So basically what your saying is that Afridi should be re-instated as the Captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team? As much I wish that for happen, Im afraid must go against my own personal desires here.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt Afridi is the best asset that the Pakistan Cricket Team currently posseses, no doubt he has set numerous records. He is a remarkable bowler having alot of variety in his balling. But the fact remains that he is 'unpredictable' when it comes to batting. Whenever he swings, either its a boundry or a catch out. We seldom see him, playing a safe game(as its not in his nature). He has always been a hard-hitter of the bat.
Bowling is perhaps the greatest strength of the Pakistan Cricket Team. Let's face it, even without Afridi we can do well in bowling. The major issue of concern lies with the batsmen. Eventhough we have a good batting line up, which on paper, can set or chase the most seemingly impossible targets. However in reality, our batsmen commit alot of fumbles.
Now finally im getting to my point here..:P
A captain is described as a leading figure who is reliable and can guide the team out of sticky situations. When the whole team is under pressure, he's the one who holds his ground.
As much as i hate Misbah for what he did in the Mohali semi-final, I must admit that he is the right captain for Pakistan. Whenever the wickets are falling rapidly, hes the only batsman who plays with a cool mind and temperament, instead of giving into pressure like most batsmen do. Eventhough Afridi has a better batting record and a much much higher strike rate than Misbah, it cannot be denied that Misbah's form has been more consistant than that of Afridi. He doesn't just swing the bat recklessly on every ball that is thrown at him. Instead he waits for the right ball and when he gets the right opening in the feild. Therefore he can be relied upon. In the end, isnt that what a captain should be, a person on whom the whole team can rely upon in difficult situations. :)
Afridi is a Very Good All Rounder in the Pakistan Cricket Team ..
ReplyDeleteAll your facts in the Blog are Inspiring and i'm really inspired by your blog .. As you have written Afridi should have never been removed from the captain of Pakistani team and he should come back as the captain .. Pakistani players should now learn from the spot fixing case so that they never repeat the mistake of fellow cricketers .. And Afridi was the captain of the team and he brought up the team in CWC-2011 that would be a very difficult task for any captain .. Well Done on the Blog and i hope for the betterment of Pakistan Cricket Team and well as PCB ..
Clearly, You are one biased fan of Shahid Afridi. Not that he isn't good. But you could have written a much more balanced article. Anyways I liked your writing. We all love BOOM BOOM. Don't we? :) Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI do agree to u to the fact that yes Afridi has been very inconsistent but i think u have seen it very clearly during the world cup how maturely he handed the side n it was from his captaincy that the team started to perform...n now coming towards what a good captain is..?? A good captain is Leader who is brave in his decisions n leads by example, who unites the team n enthusiastic and I think that we can clearly tell that Afridi has all these qualities far better than Misbah has..Now coming towards ur sayin ke it wont matter even though we have Afridi or not, i think ur answer lies in the 4th ODI against Srilanka, wen we were way out of the game when he came with a blistering 75 n also that 5 wicket haul..n without Afridi in the balling department we clearly saw what Pakistan was like in Zimbawae when the bowlers did not perform to the extent they are with Afridi being around..:)
Admin (Ansab Khalil)
nyc work ansab you have a writer in you :) i am impressed :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Ansab, albeit in a different context. A good captain may not be the best player on the field, but if he manages to bring out the best in the worst player on the team, its a job well done. I disagree with all premise of a captain leading by example. A captain is supposed to get the men up and running, to the best of their abilities, through determination, loyalty and fierce pride.
ReplyDeleteAfridi manages to do all that and so much more; and he gives a very disgruntled nation a chance to unite and smile. Which is, by far, more than any number of wickets or centuries.
Boom Boom
there was a moment in Pakistan's history when the world was pointing fingers at us, we didn't have anything about our country to feel good about, to feel proud of,i remenber the anchor person blaring in the television that 'our last hope lies with our team' and at that juncture the only candle that lit the dark and shady hopelessness of our natives was the ODI match against Sri-lanka that this 'unpredictable team' as the writer truly quotes won and came home with their heads held high. Every citizen whether an enthusiastic fan like the writer or not was optimistic about the country then, they found immense hope and promising trustworthiness in the team. Shahid stood in the limelight as the man who kept the team united and he was rightly credited. He is one of the people in our country for whom country comes before their own vested interests and such people are rare to be found.
ReplyDeleteThank You soo much people for loving what I Wrote..!! :)
ReplyDeleteAdmin(Ansab Khalil)
Ansab yar typical Boom Boom fan hahah. But yes I agree with you in that Afridi definitely is a good captain. He performs well (at least with the bowl), seems very enthusiastic on the field and most importantly, the rest of the team seems to respect him. However "Tuk tuk" Misbah is also a good captain and in times of pressure "tuk tuk" is definitely a safer approach compared to "boom boom" :P
ReplyDeleteZulfi
Very well written and totally agreed that Shahid khan afridi is the most devastating allrounder in the world .He brings enthusiasm to the team .No doubt he captained the team brilliantly in the world cup and he needs to be praised for it!! Afridi is surely an asset. Lets hope boom boom keeps on performing for pakistan for many years to come.BOOM BOOM AFRIDI!!!! Very well written mr ansab.
ReplyDeleteno doubt,shahid has indeed played a vital role in shaping up our circket team when our team was going through hard times.nice piece of work.well done :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate and am a great fan of Shahod Afridi, however the comparison with Misbah ul Haq seems unfair. It seems as if you meant to say that Afridi did all the hardwork with the team and then now it is becuase of him that the team is performing but Misbah has taken all the credit. This cannot be considered true to be honest for a few simple reasons. First of all the team is again in quite a restructuring phase, with boom boom out of the captaincy and many new players being added to the game Misbah was chosen as the captain based on his experience. Now if on the return of Afridi, misbah was to be removed from captataincy it would have hurt his ego and dampened his morale too and you cannot afford to do with someone who is somewhat a backbone of our middle order. This might have also lead to a sort of politics in the team which afterall was the reason why we lost 1999 world cup. Another reason why this comparison is unfair is becuase cricket is a spontaneous game, it does not matter what has been happening for the last 12 months but what happens in the game and it can be said that Misbah was able to tackle the pressure points of the game right? plus its a fact almost that you can't keep Afridi out of the gam, he has been advising and its not like if he is noy the captain he does not have a say. So, i guess it can be said that Afridi is a terrific camptain but lets not undermine the abilities of Misbah.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the things written in the article, one more thing that needs to be mentioned over here that he was named by Mazahr Majeed as the hardest man to get on your side and that he made many offers to Shahid Afridi but was unable to convince him for match fixing, so it proves that he is an honest guy who puts Pakistan above everything.
ReplyDeleteBut at this particular moment i think we should let him perform as a player only, eventually he will be the captain again but at the moment Misbah is doing a good job and its important that we dont make changes at this time
first of all, the writer does have a good observation on the Pakistani cricket team especially Afridi. opposing what Zayn said i would actually like to agree with the article, as Afridi has shown that he cannot only make the team perform but make them play as a unit and also sustain the team's performance. Misbah for the moment is a good option but a temporary one i guess and if we are looking to take this team a long way then Afridi is the man for it.
ReplyDelete"stand up for the champions"
ReplyDeleteAfridi manages to do all that and so much more; and he gives a very disgruntled nation a chance to unite and smile. Which is, by far, more than any number of wickets or centuries.
ReplyDeleteBoom Boom
Article well written pal!!
yes
ReplyDeleteI think what u wrote is perfect...Afridi is rightly the best captain pakistan can ever get...The ONLY HOPE AFTER IMRAN KHAN..!!!
ReplyDeleteThank You people for liking what I wrote..:)
ReplyDeleteWords can't describe Afridi he really is a superb player and its only coz of him majority of people watch Pakistani cricket hope he keeps playing like this for years to come PAKISTAN ZINDABAD!
ReplyDeleteshahid afridi is a great player and he is doing a great job. he has contributed alot to the team.in the past few matches he has proven that he has the ability to lead a team nd to win a match!
ReplyDeleteBOOM BOOM AFRIDIII!!!!
ReplyDeleteAFRIDI FTW!
ReplyDeleteI am really inspired by what you have wrote...I clearly was unaware of the fact that What Misbah is doing is just the continuation of What Afridi left so now I too believe that Afridi should be the rightful captain n Lastly i would just say one word to describe the scenerio.. BOOM BOOM AFRIDI!!!
ReplyDeleteab jaldi say canada bhag ja :D
ReplyDeletegud job kid!
ReplyDeletehhhmmmm i like it ansab :)
ReplyDeletecan be the future javaid miyadar :)
ReplyDeletewell written biography :)
keep it up
AND you really inspired me , started liking Afridi as now i know alot about him , i didnt know he is a really sincere Pakistani cricketer..
ReplyDeletethank you ansab
boom boom pakistan
Ansab u truly have told the true side of the story...Afridi is the pride of Pakistan!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Done..!!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX6gGh0oYh0
ReplyDeletehmmm... well the overall writing wasn't bad.. in fact it has revealed some great facts about the pakistan cricket team and Afridi in particular. The only point I have is that Afridi only isn't the whole team. We have been winning, without Afridi, from very tough sides when Pakistan was in total pressure. Giving Afridi the whole credit is just not the right thing. On the contrary, yes, I do believe that Afridi now is an integral part of the team and without his contribution it is much more difficult to win. Also, the facts and records you have posted has made my vision more clearer about Afridi's contribution for the team and some promising figures which ensures his spot in the team.
ReplyDeleteLastly, the point that I would like to make here is Afridi does deserve to be a captain. With your thought provoking facts mentioned above his place as a captain is certainly very important but defaming Misbah isn't the right thing. I personally have many concerns with Misbah's captaincy but he is giving us the results. At the end of the day "All is well that ends well". :) So we shouldn't start blaming Misbah or any other player just for Afridi. We still know his importance, performance and he is acknowledged for every wicket he takes, every six he hits and every four he shoots. No doubt :
BOOM BOOM AFRIDI
BOOM BOOM PAKISTAN
Simply love your writing. Great work. Keep it up. :)
Afridi is the backbone of the Pakistan team. He has proven himself though late but at a time when the team needed him the most (Better late than never). I have been watching him very closely lately and noticed that after he was given the captaincy he has changed himself and has been playing a mature cricket since then. Misbah's captaincy has been certainly a continuation of Afridi's hard work but the best part is that Misbah has taken it well. So as far as the results are there captaincy isn't an issue. Overall the article was written in a very good manner and the best part was the inclusion of the records by Afridi to support the topic. Great job.
ReplyDeleteGood one Ansab
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/extrawriters
Join this for getting paid for writing articles
some mechanical errors but it doesn't matter does it? The points in the blog are pretty valid and true.
ReplyDeletePakistan is indeed a rather unpredictable and inconsistent team which is capable of almost anything, as truly mentioned by the author. Shahid Afridi is indeed an integral part of the Pakistani team, however it is important to realize the is not just what the Pakistani team is all about. Afridi's endeavors are definitely extra-ordinary and as pointed out by the author show the immense potential within him. He is indeed a promising player who has accomplished a lot for Pakistan cricket. The writer goes on to point out that Afridi's approach toward the game has evolved with time which signifies a positive change. To sum it all up, the writer has comprehensively summed up Afridi's previous performance and has shown us the brighter perspective of his sportsmanship...Good Job...
ReplyDeletegreat post...well yes afridi is a great asset that pakistan has...and true he was removed under dubious circumstances but now when misbah is also performin so well...there seems to be no reason to remove him frm captaincy n replace with afridi...
ReplyDelete