The Shahid Afridi dilemma

As the selectors are in the process of whittling down the World Cup team from 30 probables, the only chance Shahid Afridi had, was his selection for the ODI's against South Africa. Otherwise it would be too late and not enough match practice for him. And based on his horrendous performance in 2006, that could never have happened.

But lo and behold, he's back, and the selectors have made it pretty clear that he has been chosen primarily because of the pre-2006 years. It's a strange reason and poor selection on their part. Why on earth can't Pakistan just move on and live life without him? It doesn't make sense to me. Before the squad was announced, Wasim Bari, the chief selector said...

"It is a difficult decision, but I must say that if Afridi is recalled to the (one-day) squad it would be on the basis of his past performance," chief selector Wasim Bari told The News'.

And after the selection, Bari defended his decision but added that the pressure was well and truly on Afridi.

“Afridi has the talent and the experience and now has to perform. The onus is on him and he has to help himself now,” he said.

So, unfortunately, Afridi is back. Sadly, there is no doubt that Pakistan allowed him an extended run last year, gave him plenty of chances to get back into form, and to try and make a difference. When must this cycle end? This blogger had been calling for Afridi's exclusion from the ODI squad last year based on an average of 7.67 after 15 innings in 2006.

But has his form improved? That's the brighter side...

-In domestic cricket, Afridi hasn't done too badly, so maybe the break from international cricket has helped. In 5 first-class domestic games (9 innings), he scored 253 runs, at an average of 28 with a high score of a 100. He fared a lot better in the bowling department, getting 22 wickets at an average of 9.36.
-In 4 twenty20 games (only 2 innings though) he scored 52 runs, at an average of 26 with a high score of a 49. Again, he bowled well getting 22 wickets at an average of 9.87.

His domestic form is fine, and its a healthy allrounders average in both bowling and batting. However when he comes to ODI's in recent times, he's lost at sea. In the middle of December, he was recalled to face the West Indies, going opening and scoring a solitary run before getting bowled.

I feel Afridi may not be cut out for the international stage any longer. Firstly, I've never really liked his style of batting. It's too much drama, and too hit and miss for my taste. His unpredictability is actually quite predictable and international bowlers aren't scared of him anymore and know exactly how to get him out. He's pretty much become just a walking wicket waiting to be taken.

I'd much rather have reliability in that position, because we're potentially losing runs there. I agree that he is a match winner, but those innings are too few and far between. Is he really such a useful spinning allrounder? Wouldn't we rather have a specialist batsmen in his place, or perhaps a specialist spinner? Of course he chips in with 1 or 2 constantly, but so does Razzak. In fact Hafeez is a pretty decent spinner too. Why not have a better bowler, one who can take 5 wicket hauls, or a batsmen who can score 30's or 40's? His bowling on its own does not warrant selection and coupled with his batting, it makes him a weaker candidate. If he does score a quick 30 in the World Cup, do we honestly believe that he can sustain that form in every match? Or even a quarter of the games? Because that's why we're choosing him aren't we? His quickfire 30 in 10 balls...which, honestly, is quite unlikely to happen. For a player, revered by Pakistanis for being such a gambler, the odds of success in this South African series are squarely against him.

My argument is simple. We will most likely play Razzak, Shoaib Malik and Hafeez or atleast two of them in the World Cup along with 3 specialist bowlers. (3 from Asif, Shoaib, Rana, Gul, Rehman). Thus we have the ability to bowl those 50 overs easily amongst these guys. Instead of adding another allrounder to the squad, we'd be much better off playing an extra batsmen. Waseem Bari and Afridi's fans believe its his past that provides more than enough reason to play him in the World Cup. But I think its his past which is what's against him this time around. A player should be selected only if he's in good form. The past is not an satisfactory basis for his selection? As a result my Afridi supporting days are long over and done with.