Is Shahid Afridi the best T20 player?

Shahid Afridi has been guilty of blowing up his talent like a millionaire on a gambling spree. At times one wondered whether he had filed for bankruptcy. It now seems he has reformed.

It was not the maverick Pathan with a propensity to take risks that turned up against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Neither was it the heart-break kid whose indiscretion left his ardent fans frustrated.

Last week, Afridi didn’t throw it all away in a flash. With three wickets and 105 runs in the semifinal and final, Afridi delivered. Skipper Younus Khan was surprised that he took singles in the final. It was a performance that brackets him alongside the best. It begs the question if he is the best T20 player in the world?

Yuvraj Singh, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Umar Gul, Lasith Malinga, AB de Villiers, Ajantha Mendis, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen may take objection to Afridi’s elevation into the pantheon of T20 greats but they will find it difficult to build a strong case against him.
Rameez Raja believes Afridi’s desire to lead Pakistan, one which he has often expressed, has resulted in his mature approach.

“Afridi wants to lead Pakistan in ODIs. He’s had one eye on the captaincy. At this stage in his career, he’d want to court success and prove a point,” Raja told DNA on Tuesday. Raja added that Afridi could still blow hot and cold.

On the umpteen occasions when Afridi failed with the bat (his last half-century, before his 51 against SA in the semis, was 28 innings ago), he told the world he was primarily playing as a bowler.

The package Afridi brings to the table cannot be dismissed. “No team can take the Afridi factor lightly,” Raja said. 

“If his batting clicks then Afridi should be high on confidence. In the semifinal and final he was pretty assured of his emotions and his temperament was very good. If he can be consistent then no one can deny him a place in a World XI,” said Raja.

Farokh Engineer, the flamboyant wicketkeeper batsman of the 1970s, followed the action in England as a commentator.

“Afridi has the potential to be one of the top one-day and T20 players. He is gifted and multi-skilled. He has improved as a bowler, is a brilliant fielder. He just needs to be more sensible when he bats. Afridi showed us that he can rise to the occasion. He must now take his game to a higher gear,” Engineer told this paper.

Afridi loves it when people have confidence in him and make him feel wanted. Going into the semifinal Afridi asked skipper Younus Khan to bat him up the order. “I am grateful to the captain for backing me. I knew the team was relying on me to deliver. I could not let them down,” Afridi said after the semifinal against South Africa.

“Bada player wohi hota hai jo bade match mein khele,” Afridi once said. He’s now just that.