Pakistani all rounder Shahid Afridi has announced that he was quitting one-day cricket after next year’s World Cup 2015. This news left his millions of fans pondering: who to watch after him?
Ever since he hit a 37-ball hundred in only his second one-day international – against Sri Lanka in Nairobi in 1996 – Afridi has been a cult figure in Pakistan. Afridi won hearts with his unorthodox, buccaneering style – ignoring the coaching manual to rely on swagger and raw talent.
No cricketer in Pakistan has had the persona and the box office pull of the hyperactive, big-hitting Afridi, who filled stadiums throughout his career – and often emptied them when he was out. If fan following was a yardstick of greatness in cricket, Pakistan’s colourful all-rounder Shahid Afridi would probably be ranked his country’s greatest ever player.
