Shahid Afridi is without any doubt one of the most well known cricket players in the world today. Anyone who follows cricket on a regular basis should know what this man is capable of. Even though he has a poor average with the bat, every time he comes to bat he brings fear to the opponents' hearts. Afridi also matured as a bowler over the last few years.
A few years ago, it was probably unthinkable to give Afridi the captaincy. He was irresponsible in his shot selections but he matured a lot as a batsman over the last few years. Somehow and someway, Afridi managed to become the captain of Pakistan cricket team and a few accomplishments have been achieved already:
- Ever since he became the captain, there is a new spirit in Pakistan cricket team which was missing for a few months (during the captaincy of Mohammed Yousuf, most notably).
- Pakistan qualified for the semi final in the world twenty20 under the captaincy of Shahid Afridi. Pakistan would have probably won the world cup again had it not for Michael Hussey.
- Pakistan did reasonably well in the Asia Cup, they were not outplayed.
- Pakistan beat Australia 2-0 in a twenty20 tournament, which is a big achievement I think.
- Most importantly there is no visible rift in the team right now. The team is looking united, which is a positive sign.
What I am trying to say is, Afridi is probably the most influential captain for Pakistan after Imran Khan. Afridi may not be the best player in the team, but he is certainly a captain who knows how to get the best from the team.
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