u/MoreCryptographer213

I recently came across highlights of an old match where Shahid Afridi scored 76 runs when Pakistan were 40–5 after 20 overs, and then went on to take 7 wickets. That’s still the most wickets by a Pakistani in an ODI and the second-best bowling figures overall in ODIs.

My earliest memories of cricket are from the 2014 Asia Cup, when I was about six years old. I remember Afridi hitting those two famous sixes off Ashwin in the last over against India, and then later scoring 60 off 25 balls to rescue Pakistan against Bangladesh.

This made me curious about how people who watched Afridi throughout his career viewed him at the time. I know he was a huge star and a major crowd-puller, maybe even bigger than Babar Azam is today. But when you look at his stats, his batting seems very inconsistent. His strike rate was excellent, but his average is quite mediocre, and he also holds the record for the most ducks in international cricket. On the other hand, his bowling record is very good.

I understand that he was the classic “on his day” player and an entertainer, but what was the general consensus about him back then? Was the reaction similar to how people treat Babar now when he goes through a poor run of form?