Afridi Re-Incarnated
I have never been a fan of Afridi. He has been a casual, non-professional, one-shot lucky, kind of a guy. He has not been in my ODI eleven or test eleven. OK maybe the new T20 form of the game could have somebody like him.
Saying all that, I think the lack of cricket for Pakistan has given him some time to think over it. He does have some talent but it has to be backed up with temperament. He is the most capped player in the side somehow and yet he is the least reliable. Anyway, the modern cricket requires him to play to bring people to the grounds.
I got the chance to watch him in the last series against Australia in UAE. He did surprise some Aussies with his variety. Got 6 wickets in the first ODI and a very important spell in the T20 game. Pakistan won both games.
That goes to show that he has to be taken in the side as a bowler who can bat a bit. Of course he is an excellent fielder which works in the shorter forms of the game. I think he may have finally found the right role in the side.
He has to continue to be that 4th or 5th bowler who can smash a few quick ones when required. The team management should refrain from getting carried away and experimenting him as opener or trying to make him play as a batsman. It has been tried time and again and it has done his confidence no good.
The late Bob Woolmer called him the floating pinch-hitter who could be used anywhere in the lineup to try and get quick runs when required. I think he can build on that and become the finisher who comes at 6 or 7 and finishes off games. If he can build his batting around that role, he could be fully useful.
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