Shahid Afridi is ESPN's cricketer of the decade

[Hyde]

Cricketer of the Decade: Shahid Afridi​

The winner of the espnstar.com’s Cricketer of the Decade is Pakistani all-rounder and T 20 captain Shahid Afridi.

Afridi bagged more than 50 per cent of the votes as against the other three finalists -- Ricky Ponting, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shane Warne.

While Afridi got 50.51 % votes, Ponting ended at the second position with 37.16 % with Dhoni (11.68%) and Shane Warne (0.65% ) falling behind.

Home : Latest Sports News and Results | ESPNSTAR.com ran a contest - ‘Cricketer of the Decade' for 40 days where the surfers voted for their favourite cricketers.

Twenty cricketers were shortlisted for four categories (Wicketkeeper, Batsman, Bowler, All-rounder) by a group of ESPN STAR Sports representatives.

Five cricketers were up against one another in each category and the player with the most number of votes advanced to the final round. Each category was open to voting for one week.

And at the end of the knockout stages, four players with the highest number of votes from each category were chosen.

They were up against one another yet again for the title of 'Cricketer of the Decade'.

And finally it was Shahid Afridi who claimed the title with the highest numbers of votes.

Shahid Afridi's Bio:

Name : Shahid Afridi

Position: All-Rounder

Team: Pakistan

Detail: Height - 1.80m

Playing Style: Right Handed

Test Batting Average: 37.40

Test Bowling Average: 34.89

ODI Batting Average: 23.13

ODI Bowling Average: 34.53

 

[Adios Amigo]

Good news, he truly deserved it













Adios

 

[Novice09]

Congratulations to Afridi...

Personally I'm a great fan of Afridi, Inzmam, Imran Khan (never watched his live match), Wasim and Waqar.

Man, those toe crackers from Wasim were really sensational

 

[FireFighter]

Congrats to Sahibzada Shahid Khan Afridi



Might not be pleasant news for her wife, though, I have a feeling that the overwhelming participants of this survey are women.

 

[ajpirzada]

hahahahahaha.............
have you guys seen his pictures with AK 47?? may be they all got scared....

he has been only gud in 20 20s in last dacade. but he is pakistani and thats gud enough for me to be happy

 

[Hyde]

hahahahahaha.............
have you guys seen his pictures with AK 47?? may be they all got scared....

he has been only gud in 20 20s in last dacade. but he is pakistani and thats gud enough for me to be happy

no thats not true, his performance in ODIs was also great

and i would say his performance in test matches was also praiseworthy

He just didn't get fair chance in tests

Whatever............ he is the best Pakistani player in recent years

 

[RobbieS]

Is this a joke? Just on the basis of votes? That from normal audience and not experts. What about statistics and figures? What about decency on the pitch and ball tampering?

I hope people don't take this as an India-Pakistan thing, but he's a very average player. His record speaks for itself.

 

[ajpirzada]

Is this a joke? Just on the basis of votes? That from normal audience and not experts. What about statistics and figures? What about decency on the pitch and ball tampering?

its afridi. if he doesnt do that he ll loose is fan following....
i luved his ball biting

 

[ajpirzada]

no thats not true, his performance in ODIs was also great

and i would say his performance in test matches was also praiseworthy

He just didn't get fair chance in tests

Whatever............ he is the best Pakistani player in recent years

thats true....

 

[Hyde]

Is this a joke? Just on the basis of votes? That from normal audience and not experts. What about statistics and figures? What about decency on the pitch and ball tampering?

you indians are really jealous with everything

Why dragging ball tempering into every single debate............. your dravid did that, your tendulkar did that, did we ever mention that? Why always bring the same old rants in all threads about afridi

and secondly ESPN is an indian website and trust me not many Pakistanis visit that site (except its sub-branch cricinfo) so they wouldn't even know about the polls.

Thats just the choice of peoples....... nothing else and there is no doubt he is one of the best all rounder in the world

 

[sparklingway]

The usual vote basketing happening. Cricinfo's votes are always filled with Indian and Pakistani votes as well.

 

[RobbieS]

its afridi. if he doesnt do that he ll loose is fan following....
i luved his ball biting

I understand his crazy fan following. But people should expect certain standards from their players.

Well, anyways, this just proves that awards based on votes are rarely to be taken seriously. Just like Amitabh Bachchan voted as BBC's greatest actor of the century, ahead of folks like Brando, De Niro, Pacino and other!

 

[kugga]

Whatever he is.... he is now cricketer of decade chosen by people and I think the biggest democracy in the world should accept it as its totally a democratic decision..........

Afridi bhai you proved that you have the biggest fan following in cricket. Conragulations to All his fans

 

[RobbieS]

you indians are really jealous with everything

Why dragging ball tempering into every single debate............. your dravid did that, your tendulkar did that, did we ever mention that? Why always bring the same old rants in all threads about afridi

and secondly ESPN is an indian website and trust me not many Pakistanis visit that site (except its sub-branch cricinfo) so they wouldn't even know about the polls.

Thats just the choice of peoples....... nothing else and there is no doubt he is one of the best all rounder in the world

FYI-ESPN is owned by NewsCorp's Rupert Murdoch. Does he sound like an Indian to you?

I have no problems with a Pakistani player being a chosen as a great. Youhana, Inzy could have been better candidates rather than Afridi. I'd even wager that Wasim was the best fast bowler of the past two decades. What I want to disprove is the undue significance given to Afridi as a player.

And bfore you generalize and carry on with your anti-Indian rantings please take a look at Afridi's record.

Stats Mat Inns Runs HS Ave SR 100 50
Tests 26 46 1683 156 37.40 86.13 5 8
ODIs 293 275 5957 109 23.17 111.65 4 30
T20Is 27 25 475 54* 20.65 145.25 0 3

Shahid Afridi | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com

Are these the stats of a great player? They hardly the stat for an above average player. Apart from his Strike Rate, nothing in his record is above average. Look at his average. And I haven't even gone into his averages beyond the sub-continent. They are at best pathetic.

Data hits hard buddy. Take it from a guy working in analytics!

 

[Hyde]

FYI-ESPN is owned by NewsCorp's Rupert Murdoch. Does he sound like an Indian to you?

I have no problems with a Pakistani player being a chosen as a great. Youhana, Inzy could have been better candidates rather than Afridi. I'd even wager that Wasim was the best fast bowler of the past two decades. What I want to disprove is the undue significance given to Afridi as a player.

And bfore you generalize and carry on with your anti-Indian rantings please take a look at Afridi's record.

Mat Inns Runs HS Ave SR 100 50
Tests 26 46 1683 156 37.40 86.13 5 8
ODIs 293 275 5957 109 23.17 111.65 4 30
T20Is 27 25 475 54* 20.65 145.25 0 3

Shahid Afridi | Cricket Players and Officials | Cricinfo.com

Are these the stats of a great player? They hardly the stat for an above average player. Apart from his Strike Rate, nothing in his record is above average. Look at his average. And I haven't even gone into his averages beyond the sub-continent. They are at best pathetic.

Data hits hard buddy. Take it from a guy working in analytics!

The guy who did not even bother to consider his bowling career and the fielding performance........... why should i even argue with him

He was/is a bowling all rounder....... you are neglecting his bowling performance and the the positive attitude he brings in the fieldings........... everything counts buddy

The way you compared Afridi's performance.......Sorry i can't argue with you