Jumbo cricket books presented to Shahid Afridi

Jumbo Editorial Team

Not many people might be aware of his full name, Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi, but everybody in the cricket world knows about his style, charisma and flamboyance.

Shahid Afridi, who was the joint leading wicket-taker in the Cricket World Cup 2011, is a household name in the cricket playing countries all over the planet. The former Pakistan captain has a unique style of dominating the opponents.

He is rated as the most enterprising all-round cricketer of his era, having set the grounds to fire with sensational power hitting. His batting has not been consistent enough at times but his leg-spin bowling has made amends adequately to enhance his demand.

No wonder he has had little time to spend time at his residence in Karachi. He has the knack of being in the news even when not playing cricket. Although he tries to be accessible to the media it’s not always easy to get hold of him, in view of his preoccupations.

Ehsan Qureshi, Senior Sports Reporter of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), ‘caught’ him recently and presented him a copy of his last two cricket books, Fiasco and Crash of the Titans, brought out by Jumbo Publishing.

Shahid Afridi, having contributed foreword to Crash of the Titans, was appreciative of the high quality of both the books and he congratulated the author for having done such an outstanding work.

Brief Profile: Shahid Afridi

Jumbo Editorial Team

Shahid Afridi has been one of the most popular cricketers of the recent past. His swashbuckling and at times casual approach towards the game drew criticism from certain quarters but it didn’t deter him from doing what pleased him more. He was acclaimed as a genuine match-winner in the limited-overs contests.

His powerful stroke-play brought the crowd in every part of the world to their feet. The atmosphere remained charged from the moment he took guard at the crease. He was not afraid to deposit the first ball he faced beyond the fence if he had made up his mind to do so.

Not necessarily the most consistent of performers but he was one of the characters to have charmed the spectators. His agricultural shots didn’t satisfy the purists but they enlivened the proceedings besides breaking the hearts of the opposing teams.

Although many power-hitters have come and gone his record of fastest hundred off 37 balls in One-day Internationals has stood for 15 years. When on song he had the capacity to win the match on his own either batting or bowling. He finished as the leading wicket-taker in the Cricket World Cup 2011.

He scored 6695 runs at an average of 23.49 in 325 ODIs with his strike-rate being an astronomical 113.82. He scored six centuries and 31 half centuries. He also captured 315 wickets. He played 27 Tests, scoring 1,716 runs and grabbing 48 wickets. He also captained Pakistan in every format of the game.

**Shahid Afridi has contributed foreword to Crash of the Titans

Foreword: Crash of the Titans

By Shahid Afridi

It was a great honour for me to have been provided the opportunity to lead the Pakistan team in ICC World Twenty20 Cricket Championship 2010 in the West Indies. It was a big challenge since Pakistan was also the defending champion.

Keeping in view Pakistan’s great track record in the fastest version of cricket there were great expectations from to successfully defend the crown. This brand of cricket is very difficult and unpredictable because of the quick changing nature of the game.

Since I had contributed my bit in having guided Pakistan to title winning performance ten months ago in England there was greater responsibility as well as additional pressure on me to deliver once more.

To be frank Pakistan, India and South Africa were among the firm favorites to win the title. But the Australians who had dominated the Test and One-day Internationals and England showed great adaptability in this fiery brand to reach the final.

We were not at our best in the initial stages of the competition but mainly because of the prayers of the nation and a resounding win over South Africa we managed to storm into the semifinals that had looked quite unlikely only a few days ago.

I must say that we considered ourselves unfortunate to lose in semifinals after having posted a healthy total of 191 against Australia. However I think that Mike Hussey played the innings of life that knocked us out of the race.

I still don’t think that I had committed any mistake by bringing on Saeed Ajmal for the final over. He had bowled the final over against South Africa so admirably and that’s why we made the unanimous decision on entrusting him with the final over against Australia too.

Saeed Ajmal, having bowled so well throughout the tournament, could not rise to the occasion against the rampaging Mike Hussey who unleashed powerful strokes all round the wicket to take the game away from Pakistan. Definitely it was a big disappointment for us to have given it away after our batsmen had posted such an imposing total.

I must compliment England for winning the title. They thoroughly deserved the trophy after having produced sterling performance most consistently. They displayed great innovation under their Director Operations, Andy Flower, to topple the formidable Aussies in the final. Paul Collingwood marshaled his troops so well in the field leaving little space to maneuver for their opponents.

***For further details about Crash of the Titans, please write to jumbopublishing@yahoo.com or call Asad Raza at 0333-2304024