Adieu Afridi?
As was being rumoured, Shahid Afridi was given the axe from Pakistan’s one-day international (ODI) squad for the tour of India when selectors named the teams on Monday. The former captain’s lack of form in the format was said to be the reason for his exclusion and while he remains a part of the Twenty20 squad, Afridi will have to put in good performances in the shortest format to keep his place.
On the other hand, veteran batsman Younis Khan was recalled for the ODIs on back of his experience in India and as a reliable option in the middle order.
Several young players, three uncapped and several with limited outings were also included in the squads as the selectors indicated their will to experiment and show some faith in the youth.
Another mentionable exclusion was that of veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq but given his outburst against T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez, it wasn’t surprising that the Lahore Lions player was kept out of the touring side.
Pakistani cricket fans have been divided on the team selection and while some have backed the excitement of youth over experienced players, other have lamented the exclusion of star all-rounder Afridi.
Do you agree with the team selection for the T20 and ODI squads for the tour of India?
Does Shahid Afridi deserve a place in the ODI squad? If not, will this mark a turning-point in his ODI career?
Will inexperienced players be able to cope with the pressure of playing in a high-pressure series against India?
Who are your picks for star performers for the ODI and T20 matches?
Dawn.com invites its readers to share their opinions and views…
He should have retired long ago.I have never seen him performing in teh last many years.
Pakistan cricket is in a pathetic state of affairs. In fact the politics and corruption of Pakistan cricket is an exact replica of the current Pakistan government. Afridi should have been axed decades ago he just doesn’t deserve to play. Razzaq gets axed for being honest is a sad state of affairs.
It looks like a good decision, But making him quit is not the right time. Misbah is more elder and should take the ride first…..Cheers
It is not the age but performance that one should be judged or included in the team – not even his CONNECTIONS should count. In fact that should be counted as negative.
Selection board finally came to their senses and made right decision.. He should not have introduced to international to begin with.
why all the hue and cry over dead and buried man. He should have been kicked out long ago. Now a days his mouth is stronger than his game
just a correction not now a days his mouth is stronger than his game, its always have been.
It is a very good decision to keep Afridi out of the squad. His immature approach of shot selection has led the team down. He has failed to perfrom both in batting and bowling. Just having the name AFRIDI does not work. On the contrary Abdul Razzak is much more dependable and sensible. He is a match winner. He should have been included in both ODI and T20; but I think politics always wins over national interest.
I am surprised they he got selected in T20 format?
Including Afridi two or three players should not be in playing 11….
To select or drop a player is a decision of a professional selector and not of the public. If the team performance goes down due to that decision then the selector should be questioned. Therefore I feel puting this question to public is useless. You will get 1million different opinions, while neither anyone is willing to take those opinions nor players are selected through public voting.
Junaid…The public is more educated in cricket than Zaka and Selectors. The public watch the game from outside and can see all angles. The Public opinion is HONEST as they have no chance of taking PARCHE or Gifts. DONOT COME AND SUPPPORT A DEAD HORSE HERE.
I suggest Afridi should quit cricket and take up professional boxing like Flintoff. I am sure all his expliots like ball bitting, pitch digging, fan slapping, dressing room punching will come in handy in that career. TKO Afridi, it is about time.
Not boxing, preaching more likely and join his past team mates on the way to heaven.
Excellent idea Adnan….what about a boking match between him and Flintoff on new years night.
@Waqar
There’s a word called improvement, if sir you know about that!
let see the list of great bowlers transforming into a great batsmen.
1) Ashwin Avg’s 39 in Test
2) Azher Mehmood
3) Shane Watson
4) Mitchell Johnson
5) Harbhajjan Singh
6) Yousuf Pathan
7) Sammy
8) Majid khan and Asif iqbal shared the new ball on their test debut against Aus in 1964 in Karachi – and batted at nos 8 and 10 respectively.
& The list goes on my friend, in 16 years he did not learn to bat, he’s a selfish person who only bats to maintain his strike rate & the number of sixes, I prefer a batsmen who socres 100 runs in 120 balls then a person reaching 100 in 10 one-days!
He Should have been Axed 25 games ago!
self respect is more important bhai shahid Afridi,you have played your innings
Think outside the box.
Shahid bhai is not performing well in batting, every one know he joins the team as a bowler but, in his presence of team squad automatically built the pressure on other team.
There’s a word called improvement, if sir you know about that!
let see the list of great bowlers transforming into a great batsmen.
1) Ashwin Avg’s 39 in Test
2) Azher Mehmood
3) Shane Watson
4) Mitchell Johnson
5) Harbhajjan Singh
6) Yousuf Pathan
7) Sammy
8) Majid khan and Asif iqbal shared the new ball on their test debut against Aus in 1964 in Karachi – and batted at nos 8 and 10 respectively.
& The list goes on my friend, in 16 years he did not learn to bat, he’s a selfish person who only bats to maintain his strike rate & the number of sixes, I prefer a batsmen who socres 100 runs in 120 balls then a person reaching 100 in 10 one-days!
It is a pathetic selection.
we should have said goodbye to Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Shahid Afridi, Misbah, Sohail Tanvir & Kamran Akmal in all formats. they have been given enough chances and failed time and time again
Totally agree with you Sir!
Afridi khali wali…he has lost the ingredient long before…He should not even play in T20.
Where has Mr. Younus Khan come into the team. Is it the back door? I wish Razzaq and some other well deserved plyers had the keys to that back door.
its gud time for him to rethink.Relax and correct its mistakes.he can play for 2 or more yaer of cricket.
he couldn’t realize his mistakes in past 16 years & you actually think he can do any better in his last two years?
plz dnt forget gud times a player give to his team.if he want to play we should support him for gud sake of team Pakistan
Shahid has served the country well for many years. We are and should be thankful instead of being critical.
He has also shown un-mature attitude when country’s name was at stake. He has broken many hearts as compared to saving hearts. He is just not a good fit on cost/benefit scale, he never was. I am against him because of his attitude to show-off as a big hitter no matter what the situation is. All he wants is claps, all I have for him is slaps.
plz dnt forget gud times a Player give to his country.if he wants to play we should back him for gud sake of team
He should have taken retirement like Imran and left on a high note. Sad he has to be asked to leave. He was good long time ago but in the past wo years have lost touch and is an EMBARASSMENT to Pakistan team. Bye Bye Afridi.
What makes Imran Farhat select every time? Mind boggling.
He should have been included in the ODI squad as well and had it played really poor in the T20, than he could have been left on the bench!
This guy is more than Cricket, he injects confidence in the fans and I am sure in the team members…
This is no way to treat BOOM BOOM…..
Please stop being overly sensitive & be practical for once. If you like sports then so some spirit instead of crying on a player who is worthless.
Ali why can’t you look at afridi bowling record or you purposely ignoring afridi bowling performances even recently starting from series against england in dubai if you know cricket beyond bias
ridiculous ..
I think Afridi’s time is up. He should be wise and retire in respect. His performance in the T20 world cup was horrendous. Players like Razzaq should be given more chances…..but till the time PCB is plagued with politics, none of the deserving players will get their chance. Why was Afridi given a chance in each match in the T20 world cup to play despite poor performances???, just b/c he is Afridi?… Would somebody else be given such repeated chances??? never! If this is the mind set of our captain, then good luck buddy! No doubt he was a threat once upon a time, but he has not performed in the last so many matches. I still can’t get over that they replaced Razzaq for Tanvir in the semis! gosh!
If you say Razaq and Tanvir should be given chances ahead of Afridi, you know very little aboutt cricket may be just names of the players
Sorry, leaving Afridi out because he had a spate of bad performances in the last year is not right. He may not be the Boom Boom we love anymore, but he is an inspiration on the field to the younger players. He advises and inspires with each ball. For that alone he should be playing – he’s only 32, not done yet. I don’t believe he is done performing for his country and team yet.
Excellent comments
I never saw him performing in a match – except in commercials. He is a white elephant for Pakistan team and should be out.
Afridi Sahib, all great players have a “Peak Time Frame” & later gradually phase out. As an experienced player you are your best judge. Keeping in view your current performances and reflexes, you should now depart cricket with Grace. Try avoiding further embarrassment to yourself and particularly to the country. Even after your farewell to cricket your honorable name will still be ringing in our ears as a Super Start Cricketer. We all your Fans wish you Well.
Team selection is biased & not on merit & this is not something new in PCB. The whole PCB needs to be replaced with honest & knowledgable cricketers
Pakistan should have said goodbye to Shoaib Malik, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Shahid Afridi, Misbah, Sohail Tanvir & Kamran Akma, Imran Farhat & Imran Nazirl in all formats. they have been given enough chances and failed time and time again
Never??? You gotta kidding me and yourself.
Selection is absolutely biased.Why was younis selected when he has failed consistently by scoring only 160 in in his last ten innings.Afridi scored 180 in his last ten innings @ a strike rate 0f 150 & above plus he bowled reasonably well & he is a brilliant fielder.Also against australia afridi played only two matches & in the first match he took 2/37 in 10 overs & there were couple of catches dropped on his bowling.The mere presence of afridi instills fear in the opposition & hence the selectors have committed a blunder by axing the only pak hero in cricket.