Let Shahid Afridi shine, one final time!
The above table has been
doing the rounds of social media since Pakistan’s T20 series loss to New
Zealand. It has been shared all over Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp with the
statement “Shahid Afridi is Pakistan’s worst T20 captain ever”. Ofcourse stats
don’t lie and I will be the first person to support any argument with Stats, however
one also needs to assess them objectively.
In the above table, Inzamam,
Younis, and Misbah can be taken out of the reckoning considering that they have
not captained in enough games. Shoaib Malik’s record is largely skewed
considering that 7 out of his 12 wins were in matches against Bangladesh (3),
Zimbabwe (1), Scotland (1), Canada (1), and Kenya (1). Mohammad Hafeez was
definitely a very good captain; arguably the best T20 captain Pakistan has had.
He should have continued for longer. His resignation following Pakistan’s exit
from the World T20 in 2014 was one of the most selfless acts we have witnessed
in Pakistan cricket.
Sure Shahid Afridi has not
been as good a captain. But his figures are also not as bad as they are being
made out to be. Under his captaincy, Pakistan has won as much as they have
lost; alright lost a bit more but just very slightly. When compared to
international captains who have captained in at least 10 T20 Internationals,
Afridi’s record is better than many including Ricky Ponting, Chris Gayle, and
Stuart Broad. It is also not very different from the record of AB De Villiers,
George Bailey, Brendon McCullum, and the one and only MS Dhoni!
Before jumping to
conclusions like “Afridi is Pakistan’s worst T20 captain”, one must also
realize that T20s are very different from ODIs and Tests. While an astute
captain with a strong team will win ODIs and Tests frequently, the same is not
the case with T20s. The game is so short that a few deliveries change the
course of the entire match. That is why one witnesses so many upsets in T20s,
as compared to ODIs and Tests. The format is extremely unpredictable and over
the longer term majority of the teams have Win:Loss records close to 1:1.
The same is the case with
captains who have led their teams in the shortest format for a long time.
Because the format has not been around for too long, there are only 21 captains
among the 10 test playing nations who have led in at least 15 T20
Internationals. Many of these captains, including MS Dhoni, Bailey, McCullum,
Vettori, AB De Villiers, and Afridi have a win percentage in the 47% - 53%
range. There are less than a handful of captains who have led in more than 25
T20s and have win percentages significantly higher than 50% - Graeme Smith,
Paul Collingwood, Mohammad Hafeez, and Darren Sammy.
This clearly indicates that
over the longer term, a team and a captain, will have a win:loss ratio in the
vicinity of 1:1. One can take a look at betting sites offers also and they will show similar odds at the beginning of most T20 Internationals.
Then why are so many people
eager to have Afridi removed as Pakistan’s T20 captain before the World T20?
He played an instrumental
role in the only World T20 that Pakistan won. He was Man of the Match in the
semifinal and the final of that tournament. He also played an instrumental role
in the only other World T20 that Pakistan reached the final of. He was the
Player of the Tournament then. Moreover, the only other time Pakistan were
close to playing another World T20 final before Hussey happened, Afridi was the
captain.
He has always been a major
force in T20 cricket.
He is the leading wicket
taker in the world in T20 Internationals. He has one of the best economy rates
among the leading wicket takers in T20s. He has won the most man of the match
awards in T20s in the history of the format.
Afridi is a T20 King.
Let us also not forget that
it is never wise to change the captain so close to a World Cup. Pakistan did
not sack Waqar Younis before the 2003 World Cup despite Pakistan going through
a continuous rut in ODIs under him. They did not sack Misbah before the 2015
World Cup even though Pakistan went through their worst ever phase in their ODI
history under him.
So yes. It will be Afridi
who will captain Pakistan in the World T20.
He has already announced
that the World T20 will be his last international outing; having already
retired from ODIs, Afridi will wave goodbye to international cricket once and
for all. He has had an illustrious career spanning two decades and the World
T20 is his last chance to shine.
And it is our last chance to
have faith in him for one final time.
Let us believe that Afridi
can do it again, for one final time. Let the man who has ruled the nation’s
heartbeat for 20 years, continue to do what he does best, for one final time.
Let Boom Boom resonate throughout the stadiums in India, for one final time.
Let us all witness the arms raised aloft wicket celebrations, for one final
time.
So don’t let all those stats
about his T20 captaincy bog you down. He has led Pakistan to many memorable
victories and he still has it in him to lead them to many more. One final time!
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It is unfortunate that Pakistan lost most matches in the captaincy of Shahid Afridi. This is because our team's overall performance since 2010 is not so good in T20. Now Pakistan is launching Pakistan Super League T20. This will leave good effects on Pakistan Cricket as India's cricket improved after IPL. Just after PSL we have world T20. Lets see how they perform in WorldT20. That will be final destination for Shahid Afridi in International cricket
waoo great information.. i think Karachi kings is the most favorite team in psl matches.
PSL Schedule 2016 in which i think soo lahore Qalander and karachi kings produce lot of rumor in Pakistan audience about PSL
shahid afridi fastest century in 37 balls - shahid afridi sixes
shahid afridi fastest century in 37 balls