The better ODI player: Shahid Afridi vs. R. Jadeja

[trundler]

I thought Ajmal was the one who troubled Tendulkar in 2011

 

[cnerd123]

Unrelated to this, but why did afridi not play more test cricket? 1700 runs @36 and a sr of 87 with 5 hundreds and 48 wickets @35. Those are good numbers.

Issues with PCB, perception that his game wasn't suited to the format (in particular because he kept getting out slogging), team balance (wasn't really a good enough bowler to be picked as sole spinner and guys like Razzaq/Mahmood were better value as allrounders), and also I think he just did not enjoy Tests all that much.

Gun ODI/T20 player tho. Basically got picked for his bowling/fielding and his blitzkrieg batting was a bonus. Was an underrated tactical mind in the field too. Plus he put bums on seats and got people to tune in - good value for sponsors whenever he was in the team.

 

[subshakerz]

Issues with PCB, perception that his game wasn't suited to the format (in particular because he kept getting out slogging), team balance (wasn't really a good enough bowler to be picked as sole spinner and guys like Razzaq/Mahmood were better value as allrounders), and also I think he just did not enjoy Tests all that much.

Gun ODI/T20 player tho. Basically got picked for his bowling/fielding and his blitzkrieg batting was a bonus. Was an underrated tactical mind in the field too. Plus he put bums on seats and got people to tune in - good value for sponsors whenever he was in the team.

In his first career half, it was the bowling that was the bonus. He was a good fielder and was expected to win Pakistan the game if his batting clicked.

 

[cnerd123]

In his first career half, it was the bowling that was the bonus. He was a good fielder and was expected to win Pakistan the game if his batting clicked.

that's how they perceived his skills/utilized him early on, but as it transpired it was the wrong way to use him, and I think at the back of his career he was better used. He was only sent up to open the batting on a hunch, his initial selection into the squad was as much to do with his bowling as his explosive hitting IIRC.

 

[ankitj]

Records | One-Day Internationals | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Most player-of-the-match awards | ESPNcricinfo.com

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Always surprises me to see how high Afridi is on this list. A true impact player if there ever was one.

 

[srbhkshk]

Records | One-Day Internationals | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Most player-of-the-match awards | ESPNcricinfo.com

Statsguru, ESPNCricinfo's searchable cricket statistics database

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Always surprises me to see how high Afridi is on this list. A true impact player if there ever was one.

Not sure that's a great indicator of "impact player" given Kallis has the same amount of awards in quite a bit lesser number of matches.

 

[subshakerz]

Frankly as a Pakistan cricket fan, I felt Afridi did more harm than good. A bit more restraint in his batting and he could have justified opening the innings. I rate Razzaq higher as a ODI player.