http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 - Cricketer Profile - 1996 - 2011
Shahid Afridi, the Pakistani cricketer, who recently has announced retirement from the International cricket in June 2011, due to controversies with the Pakistan Cricket Board, has led a brilliant cricketing career.
The all-rounder joined cricket primarily as a leg-break spinner, and in the second One-Day international match of his career against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, he stunned the audience, not by his bowling but by his record making first international
innings, where he hit the world’s fastest 37-ball century and reserved a permanent place in national team’s squad.
Following this achievement, Afridi was also known for his aggressive bowling style and was given the title “Boom Boom Afridi”.
He also became the record holder for scoring 32 runs in a single over, which was the second highest score in an over in ODI cricket.
In the third appearance of the tournament, he became the pick of the bowlers for Green Shirts for claiming three wickets off 10 overs.
The right-handed batsman with his destructive batting style has become the only player to hit fastest three ODI centuries, out of seven on the whole. According to 19 April 2011 stats, Afridi’s ODI strike rate of 113.82 runs per
100 balls is the fourth highest in cricket history.
Having batted in 325 ODIs, he has scored 6695 runs at an average of 23.49, including five centuries and eight fifties, including his best batting figure of 124, which he hit against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 in Dambulla in June 2010. Bowling
in 300 innings he has claimed 315 wickets at an average of 34.22, including his best bowling figures of 6/38. The destructive batman has hit 615 fours and 289 sixes till the end of his cricketing career.
Afridi, who was famous for his big hitting style, later saw a decline in his batting performance and in past one and half year he paid more attention to his bowling skills.
In the recently concluded International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) World Cup 2011, he played an outstanding bowling role, as he was the top wicket-taker of the tournament for claiming 21 wickets. Being captain of the team, the 31-year-old
led his side to the semi-final stage of the tournament brilliantly.
Following the mega event’s conclusion, the former leg-spinner led his side in the Caribbean tour, where they enjoyed a 3-2 victory in the five-match ODI series. However, due to controversies with the national board, Afridi was
removed from the captaincy for the next tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ireland-c751.
The veteran was not pleased by this decision of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Cricket Board (PCB) and hence he announced his retirement from all the forms of International cricket and revealed that he would not come back in cricket till the board
will be working under the chairmanship of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128.
Pakistan’s former limited-overs skipper has also been playing Test cricket and having featured in 27 Test matches, he amassed 1716 runs at an average of 36.51, including five centuries and eight fifties, including his best batting
innings of 156.
Bowling in 47 Test innings, he has claimed 48 wickets at an average of 35.60, including his best bowling figures of 5/52.
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