Afridi - The saif ali khan of pakistan

Now that the IPL is finally done and dusted, its time to take a look at the lighter side of things...i like to start with things bottom up so that the root of the problem is always analyzed at (or attempted to be analyzed at :) ) Deccan Chargers was a team to watch out for.... and was favorite to hold the tournament by the scruff of its neck and wring out opponents which were all 'piece-of-cake' (atleast on paper!! .. that reminds me.. one of my colleagues coined this abt DC during the season... DC is the strongest team on paper since it is owned by a newspaper!)... but then, starry tantrums and hairy displays aside, there was really nothing that the team did noteworthy (except losing 12 of its games, royally!)..

Afridi was one of the 'stars' of the Deccan Chargers... Whenever I look at this guy on the field, I am only reminded of Geoffrey Boycott's now notoriously famous " if afridi is 17, i am 21" comment, eh! how many years back??? and one of geoff boycott's recent taunts at afridi has prompted me to write this piece.. boycott said " He can't change his game because he is a hitter of the ball. He is a wonderful hitter and I think he is one of the biggest hitters that the game has seen. He has a wonderful physique and is a strong lad. But he has no brain. He can't think. He can't stop swiping even if you stood on his shoulder and told him not to hit the ball before the bowler bowled."

To put it in plain words, i think afridi is such a talent lost... still not lost by some standards...! how many times have u seen this guy on the field and thought abt the mouth-watering prospect of seeing some big hits when he comes in to bat.. and thinking wat a dumb little score the opponent has left for this guy... and how many times have u kicked urself for thinking like that... after seeing him madly charge at a good length ball, testing Newton;s laws of gravity.. .trying to deposit the ball in the income tax building or the press box or the sydney clock tower depending on the ground he is playing in... and finding the bowler adjusting his position some 10-12 times, almost in impatience and frustration, for the ball to come and land safely in his palms... !

Afridi has been that kind of a guy throughout his career... but one real source of comic relief when he is fielded (if at all) in a test eleven is his absolutely crass and inelegant back foot attempted defensive shot... he seems to be in pain either from a constipation or a bad meal when he tries to play that shot... getting himself into all entangled knots.... holding out the bat... crisscrossing his legs... and then meeting the ball to the bat facing covers and the elbow pointing towards the bowler...

For all his idiosyncracies, he still seems to be the popular pathan from pakistan with his filmy looks... and his free flowing hair... so here's to the saif ali khan of pakistan...!