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Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is a pretty rockstar but is
not a band, finds himself in a similar situation. His trademark hit throughout
the initial parts of a game has been an inswinging yorker. The white-ball
events you dare not miss are his first explosions. But things have gotten to
the point where it’s natural to wonder if it is wearing a little thin, if he
could be overdoing it after three games of the cut and thrust of a World Cup –
and the Asia Cup before it. What else does he have, we wonder?
This is an imperfect analogy to start with. Afridi is
not and has never been a one-trick pony. His overall statistics this year do
not indicate a decline: he is taking nearly two wickets per game, and his
average, strike rate, and economy are freakishly similar to his stellar career
statistics.
The one trick has just become somewhat of a monster
since it is so strong, impressive, and well-established. Since Afridi’s
recovery from the terrible knee injury he sustained last year, he has continued
to feed it.
But so far in this World Cup, particularly during the
Asia Cup, it hasn’t quite landed perfectly. The slightest mistakes make this
weapon useless because it is so precisely calibrated that everything must hit
just properly. The line has veered somewhat to the leg side, the length is
frequently a bit too big, and the pace has slowed down a bit. Batters have
started attacking him because they know what’s coming and because it’s not
arriving correctly.
Over this time, it has become quite clear that he is
trying too hard to get that magic ball, which is hurting the overall
effectiveness of his opening spells. Additionally, there has been a general
slowdown in speed. His World Cup average pace was 133.1 kph, compared to 135.3
kph during the Asia Cup. He is crossing 140 kph less frequently than he used
to, and those numbers are down from the higher 130s he was hitting two years
ago. It might be because of concerns about the knee, a psychological issue that
is very normal for sportsmen making a comeback after extended absences and
which will probably get better the more he plays.
There may be further contributing elements. At the
other end, there is no Naseem Shah to feed off of. Although they have only
played eight ODIs together, Afridi has often performed better when Naseem is
around because he takes wickets with him at a cost that is over a run lower and
hits balls two balls quicker than without him.
The fact that this World Cup is the first significant,
focused event of ODI cricket in four years serves as a reminder that the format
still leans more towards Tests than it does towards T20s. Despite the offensive
flair that T20s have given ODIs, the lengthier format still calls for some care
and patience because an innings and a spell must be built over a longer period
of time.
The ironic thing is that since his return, his efforts
in other parts of the game—particularly the middle overs—have yielded better
outcomes.
Although he is still only 23 and is playing on Indian
pitches for the first time, there are promising signals, not the least of which
is the improvement of his slower cutter. His typically excellent death-overs
work has gotten more crisper.
When Pakistan plays Australia on Friday, they won’t
mind hearing the Afridi hit first up again, but what they could really use is
an album full of bangers for the remainder of the tournament.