2011 Mid Year Retirements – Departing Legends from the World of Cricket – Part 3
Along with many others, the Pakistani side also offered farewells to two of the most loved cricketers of the nation.
This third part of the abstract looks into career and contributions made by Shoaib Akhtar and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482.
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar made a mark in the international cricketing scenario in the late 90s and right from the beginning the player flourished into becoming world’s fastest pacer. His notoriously fast deliveries earned him the title of ‘Rawalpindi Express’.
Akhtar made his international Test debut in 1997 against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. A year later, the player made his way into One Day Internationals (ODI) against Zimbabwe.
Earlier this year, after Akhtar’s controversial absence from the 2011 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World Cup’s quarter and semi finals, the player made it official that he would bid farewell to international cricket.
As a player, Akhtar spent a varied sporting career filled with superb performances, allegations and injuries.
In 1999, the player sealed his star performance in the Asia Test Championship in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229.
The same year, Akhtar made his remarkable prominence in the Sharjah cup followed by the 1999 World Cup.
In 2002, Akhtar delivered two of the most impressive performances of his career against Australia. His stats included an outclass spell of 5 for 25 in an ODI at Brisbane, and then a 5 for 21 in a spectacular performance in Colombo.
However, in the 2003 World Cup, the player could not offer his best after which he was cut-out from the squad only to return the following year in a series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754.
Since then, Akhtar came to be known as an often absentee from the squad, primarily due to his developing injuries and controversies.
In 2004, Akhtar seemed to struggle due to a wrist and back injury coupled with conflicts with team mates.
In the following year, Akhtar had to return from the team’s tour to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 as result of a hamstring injury and alleged rumors of indiscipline.
More trouble came for Akhtar in 2006, after a positive drug test that led to the player’s suspension along with fellow fast bowler http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Asif-c1993.
Shoaib Akhtar has definitely proved to be the ‘bad boy’ of cricket. However, despite his image with the cricketing authorities, the player still holds admiration throughout the globe.
After breaking the 100 mph barrier, Shoaib Akhtar became a much feared bowler by many top class batsmen.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Ali-Khan-c89356 Afridi
In a recent affair, Afridi announced his retirement from international cricket, after the former Captain of the Pakistani squad developed conflicts with the PCB upon returning from the Caribbean tour in May, this year.
As a player, Afridi grew into a professional all-rounder with exceptional bowling and hard hitting batting skills that earned him the title of ‘Boom Boom Afridi’.
The player made his ODI debut in 1996 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752 with Test premier a couple years later against the Australians.
Afridi soon made a place in the cricketing fraternity due to his aggressive batting skills especially after scoring the fasted ODI century. The player’s accomplishment came in his first international innings.
He also became famous for scoring 32 runs in an over, which is the second highest scoring over in the history of ODI cricket and also holds the record for highest number of sixes.
However, Afridi still considers himself as a better bowler than a batsman. And the player has often proved his point.
He has over 300 wickets, most of which came from the ODI format. The player’s leg spins, accompanied with occasional off-spins turned him into a threat for many opponent players. Afridi earned numerous wicket-hauls in ODI and in the T20s (limited overs format).
Apart from being a prominent all-rounder, the player also proved his might as a team captain. After his retirement from Test cricket, Afridi took over his squad under the ODI and T20 formats.
For his nation, the player’s most remarkable achievement as a captain came after he led http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 into the 2011 World Cup semi finals; remarkable because Afridi had revived a team that was previously hovered with controversies, defeats and allegations.
Afridi’s career stats include 27 tests with 1716 runs and 48 wickets and 325 ODIs with 6695 runs and 315 wickets.
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