Shahid Afridi the hopeful player for pakistan in world cup 2011

Shahid Afridi the only star player and captain of Pakistan cricket board. Now a days Pakistan team has contains less power, but they are also hopeful to won the world cup 2011. After a long time back the Roawlpindi express Shoab Aktar  come back but he is not get his past performance. Shahid Afridi is a current ODI and Twenty20 captain of the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya in Nairobi and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia at Karachi.

He is known for his aggressive batting style, and currently holds the highest career strike rate in the history of international cricket. His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi" for his fastest One Day International century just in 37 balls,as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI. He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of One Day International cricket. While he is renowned for his aggressive batsman-ship, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls. Afridi was named as the most popular cricketer in Pakistan. Now here is his small Bio-data.

Full name: Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi

Born: March 1, 1980, Khyber Agency

Current age: 30 years 354 days

Major teams: Pakistan, Asia XI, Deccan Chargers, Fly Emirates XI, Griqualand West, Habib Bank Limited, ICC World XI, Karachi, Leicestershire, South Australia

Playing role: Allrounder

Batting style: Right-hand bat

Bowling style: Legbreak googly

Relation: Brother-Tariq Afridi, Brother - Ashfaq Afridi

NOW HERE IS HIS BATTING AND FIELDING AVERAGES:  

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	27	48	1	1716	156	36.51	1973	86.97	5	8	220	52	10	0
ODIs	312	293	18	6583	124	23.93	5787	113.75	6	31	602	288	101	0
T20Is	42	40	3	671	54*	18.13	464	144.61	0	3	55	26	12	0
First-class	111	183	4	5631	164	31.45			12	30			75	0
List A	403	381	21	9233	124	25.64			8	50			124	0
Twenty20	81	74	5	1274	54*	18.46	797	159.84	0	3	106	62	24	0

Bowling averages:

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	27	47	3194	1709	48	5/52	5/43	35.60	3.21	66.5	1	1	0
ODIs	312	287	13358	10343	292	6/38	6/38	35.42	4.64	45.7	2	3	0
T20Is	42	42	953	975	53	4/11	4/11	18.39	6.13	17.9	3	0	0
First-class	111		13493	7023	258	6/101		27.22	3.12	52.2		8	0
List A	403		17453	13501	396	6/38	6/38	34.09	4.64	44.0	3	5	0
Twenty20	81	81	1760	1865	98	4/11	4/11	19.03	6.35	17.9	4	0	0

Afridi started his ascendance to the captaincy in June 2009 when he took over from Younus Khan after that he was handed the ODI captaincy for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the test captaincy but resigned after one test-match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play test cricket. He captained Pakistan in the following limited overs series against England and South Africa. Afridi after taking the captaincy has been publicly fighting with the Pakistan Cricket Board over who has the say in selection.

Shahid Afridi is expecting the ageing express pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, to be Pakistan’s trump card in the soon-to-start ICC World Cup 2011. The Boys in Green are looking to lift the coveted trophy for the second time in the history of Pakistan Cricket.Afridi spoke to media reporters in Dhaka and commented that the speedster is working hard on his fitness because the 35-year-old wants to give his best in what could be his swansong World Cup. "Let me tell you that Shoaib Akhtar is working really, really hard because he wants to be at his best in the World Cup,” said Afridi. “In terms of fitness, Shoaib may be a bit down but he is totally committed and is improving day by day," he added.

The flamboyant all-rounder said that he would not be surprised if Akhtar delivers his brilliant best during the World Cup. The sensational new-ball pair of Pakistan, including Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was banned from cricket earlier this month, following their involvement in a spot-fixing scandal. The depleted pace attack, according to quite a few cricket experts, might affect the team’s prospects in the tournament.

Afridi, however, played down the notion of a ‘depleted pace attack’ and said his fast bowlers have the potential to change the course of the game on any day. "Besides Akhtar, we have Umar Gul who is a valuable player and match winner. I don't think that there is any cause for concern. Our team is shaping up well and the boys are all highly motivated to give their best in the World Cup," he said.

The Akhtar-lead pace attack of Pakistan includes reverse swing bowler Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, all-rounder Abdul Razzq and the fresh pacer, Junaid Khan, who has been called in as injured Sohail Tanvir’s replacement. The turning tracks of the subcontinent are best known for assisting spinners and Afridi said that his side is also considering the option of playing an extra spinner in the mega event starting in Dhaka on Saturday. "The playing conditions would be quite different to what we encountered during our tour of New Zealand. Here we can explore the idea of playing an extra specialist spinner," said the all-rounder who himself is a accomplished leg-spinner.

Pakistan is all set to kick-off  the ICC World Cup 2011 tour officially by taking Bangladesh in the first of their two official warm-up matches at Mirpur, Dhaka tomorrow, 15 February.

Career statistics:

Test debut          Pakistan v Australia at Karachi, Oct 22-26, 1998 scorecard

Last Test              Australia v Pakistan at Lord's, Jul 13-16, 2010 scorecard  

ODI debut           Kenya v Pakistan at Nairobi (Aga), Oct 2, 1996 scorecard

Last ODI               New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Feb 5, 2011 scorecard         

T20I debut          England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard

Last T20I               New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, Dec 30, 2010 scorecard

Last First-class   Australia v Pakistan at Lord's, Jul 13-16, 2010 scorecard

Last List A            New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Feb 5, 2011 scorecard

Twenty20 debut Kent v Middlesex at Maidstone, Jul 2, 2004 scorecard

Last Twenty20   New Zealand v Pakistan at Christchurch, Dec 30, 2010 scorecard