Does Shahid Afridi need a break?

By Jawad Hussain
 

Shahid Afridi amid toughest time of his international cricket career

KARACHI, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) October 13, 2012: Former captain of Pakistan cricket team Moin Khan said Friday that struggling top all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi should take a brief break from the game after a disappointing ICC World Twenty20 2012.

 

Boom Boom Afridi: Will He Strike Back?

Shahid Afridi had a nightmarish ICC World Twenty20 2012 where he seldom scored runs and lacked confidence in his bowling as he was belted for runs while he also failed to regain his in-drift which used to trouble batsmen in the past.

While cricket experts like Dr. Nauman Niaz and Younus Khan are of the belief that a surgery on his back has stopped him from bending it the way he used to which is why he can’t find his drift into the right-handers but his recent slump in form has surely something to do with his mental state and of course a rift in the team.

Shahid Afridi led Pakistan to very much a similar result in the 2011 ICC World Cup what Mohammad Hafeez produced but Afridi had to leave the captaincy for his great work after the then coach Waqar Younis found disliking for him and he along with the then manager hatched conspiracies against the hard-hitting all-rounder which eventually forced Ijaz Butt to remove him from captaincy.

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Since then, Shahid Afridi has been in and out of the national cricket team but the BoomBoom resurrected his career last year when he rocked Sri Lanka in United Arab Emirates and since then he had been producing match-winning performances for Pakistan consistently.

However, when you talk about Pakistan cricket, you always know you’re talking about politics. Only when Shahid Afridi started producing massive performances, a group in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which doesn’t like Afridi in the team, started a new wave of conspiracies which disrupted his concentration as he was made to fight on two battlefields.

The increased pressure of performance in a cricket team which lacks quality players kept gaining size for Shahid Afridi and the extra pressure of dealing with the haters in the board put him to the sword and he started finding it tough to keep his consistency in the field.

Not a lot of people were in favor of Shahid Afridi’s inclusion in the ICC World Twenty20 side and they kept doing their bit to get the Boom Boom out of the squad but he somehow managed to get a place for him.

Should Lala Take A Break From Cricket?

A lot was expected from Shahid Afridi but politics in the dressing room kept dismantling his psyche and he found it tough to perform in the field as fielders looked less-enthusiastic to stop boundaries off his bowling while he didn’t get some decisions in his favor which added fuel to the fire.

In recent years, Shahid Afridi has extracted confidence from his bowling rather than his batting and when he found little support by his teammates off his bowling, naturally his batting got affected and he lost his touch with the bat, scoring a series of Ducks.

In such dire circumstances, Moin Khan’s advice has just the right idea for Shahid Afridi who needs some time with his family and friends to think about his future and his game as he needs to work it out in the nets.

Can Boom Boom bring back smiles on his fans' faces?

Moin Khan rightly disagreed with the repeated calls of international retirement for Shahid Afridi and said that the flamboyant all-rounder should continue playing international cricket as he still has plenty of cricket left in him.

"I don't think he should retire. I sincerely believe he can still serve Pakistan cricket for a few more years. All he needs to do now is take a break from the game, spend some time with his family and come back before the India tour fresh and confident," Moin stated.

Disagreeing with the people suggesting Afridi to call it quits, Moin Khan said, “I don't agree with this notion. Afridi is clearly short on confidence while batting and this is affecting his overall performance. He needs to take a break and regain his focus because he remains a valuable player for Pakistan”.

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Shahid Afridi pondering his options

By Ahmad Jatt

KARACHI (TheSportsNext) September 5, 2012: Pakistan’s star all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi is dejected after severe criticism by cricket fans and former cricketers and is pondering his options and is likely to announce a very important announcement about his career after returing home, TheSportsNext.com has learnt.

As per the sources, Boom Boom Afridi is under stern stress following huge criticism by not only the fans but also from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) authorities and team management therefore he is making up his mind for something big.

Sources told this scribe on Wednesday, “Shahid Afridi talked to some of his close friends whom he usually introduces in media as his Buzurgs (elders). He asked for their advice about his international career and most probably he will announce a very important announcement in coming days".

They added, "Afridi also discussed the stress which he is facing nowadays by the team management and senior colleagues in the Pakistani team”.

It is important to mention here that Shahid Afridi has scored just 177 runs in his last 15 matches in four different series and tournament and got just 10 wickets in these matches which resulted in a huge wave of criticism.

"Yes! It is absolutely right that Shahid Afridi is under stress because of criticism. Management thought Afridi is not fit for batting slot and in the presence of Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal it’s quite difficult to fit him in spinner slot too", the sources said adding, “Some of the senior cricketers also joined former cricketers and advised him that he must take a break from the game".

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Injured Shahid Afridi out of first two T20s against Australia

By Osama Tariq

DUBAI (TheSportsNext) September 5, 2012: Former Pakistani captain Shahid Khan Afridi will not play the first two matches of the three-match Twenty20 International series against Australia after precariously injuring his thumb during nets.

 

Shahid Afridi was a doubt for Pakistan in the final One Day International but the all-rounder insisted in playing the match and in the end proved burden on the team as he managed only seven runs besides giving away 62 runs from his 10 overs.

He completely looked out of sorts during that final ODI where he kept shielding his left hand while bowling or fielding which in the end cost Pakistan the match and the series.

Pakistan’s team manager Colonel Naveed Akram Cheema told reporters here on Tuesday, "You must have witnessed it yesterday -- Shahid had a thumb injury, where his left thumb was wounded quite badly, the skin tore off and blood was oozing quite profusely”.

As per the sources, the doctors have advised Shahid Afridi to rest for five days which means he will be missing the first two Twenty20Is of the series.

Team manager stated, "He's received about two stitches. The doctors intend to examine the intensity of the wound (and) how far can it be healed. We haven't taken a decision yet (on whether he will be fit for the first match on Wednesday)."

The series has been dubbed as the preparations for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 2012 event in Sri Lanka and both Australia and Pakistan would be looking to come up with their final touches to their preparations.

However, Shahid Afridi’s injury can be a huge blow for Pakistan as the all-rounder has the highest number of scalps in the shortest format, i.e. 58. Second and third in the list are from Pakistan as well. Fast bowler Umar Gul, who is part of the T20 squad, has 55 wickets to his name while orthodox off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has captured 54 victims in the T20 format thus far.

Pakistan’s T20 captain Mohammed Hafeez showed confidence in abilities of his wicket-takers as he told reporters here that his team’s focus was to play as a unit rather than relying on individual performances.

Australia have further revved up their fast bowling attack by including 19-year-old pacer Patrick Cummins and their T20 skipper George Bailey told reporters, "It's going to be particularly important, especially once we get to Sri Lanka (for the World Twenty20) to have that genuine out-and-out pace. It makes it hard for teams to settle, and there's no doubt that Patrick's got that express pace. He's well skilled with his changes of pace, his slower ball and his bumper, which is very good, and a very good yorker.

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