Former captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team Sarfaraz Ahmed has caused a little stir in the cricketing circles by picking Mohammad Amir ahead of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
The wicket-keeper batter made his feelings known during a podcast.
Sarfaraz’s list went Mohamad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Afridi in that order, at least when it comes to skills. It is hard to dispel the merit of his selection given Sarfaraz Ahmed captained both Amir and Shaheen but by every gauge, Afridi seems to dwarf Amir when it comes to fast bowling.
Extraordinarily, both Afridi and Amir have had an uncanny similar start to their careers. Touted as the next big things since their teenage years, the two have carried the burden of millions of hopes with two very different outcomes.
While Shaheen has become a mainstay for Pakistan since bursting onto the scene at 18 years old, Amir matched the high of becoming a world champion in 2009 by getting banned the next year at just 18 years of age.
Shaheen is now 22 and all you have to do is compare their career stats to get your answer.
Records held by Shaheen and Amir:
Let’s start on a positive note by highlighting the positives from both players.
- Amir holds the record for most runs by a no11 batter in ODI cricket with 58 which he made against England in 2016.
- With Saeed Ajmal, Amir shares a record for the second-highest partnership for the 10th wicket with 103 against New Zealand in 2009.
- Amir is the third-youngest to take five wickets in a test inning behind only Nasim-ul-Ghani and Naseem Shah.
- Shaheen, meanwhile, holds the record for most consecutive 4 wickets in innings with 3.
- His strike rate of 25.5 is the 5th best of any bowler in ODI cricket history.
- Shaheen happens to be the 8th fastest player to reach 50 ODI wickets.
Shaheen and Amir at 22:
Mohammad Amir had acervated an impressive haul of 99 international wickets by this age which looks impressive until Shaheen joins the debate sitting at 219 scalps.
Shaheen has a better strike rate with the ball in all three formats and boasts a better bowling average in ODIs and Tests and basically every other metric of meaning.
The caveat here is that Amir was just 18 when banned for five years before returning to the international fold in 2016 when he was already 24. But you reap what you sow.
Shaheen seems to be what everyone thought Amir would end up being. Afridi, since debuting, has gone on to become one of the most fearsome bowlers in cricket while winning domestic laurels and appears to be in a prime position to take over the leadership of the Green Shirts in the future.
Amir, in the meantime, has become a proverbial villain whose actions on a cricketing pitch seem to rile everyone up. His cricketing talent remains unquestionable but one cannot help but wonder what Pakistan would have looked like if Amir had not strayed.
A lineup of Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Ihsanullah, Naseem Shah or any of Pakistan’s pace battery would have been a sight to behold.
Everyone else agrees, maybe Sarfaraz should as well.
But you cannot fault the Quetta Gladiators’ skipper, perhaps he is still reeling from when Afridi really did this to him.
Remember this heated exchange?
Who was at fault here? Sarfaraz Ahmed or Shaheen Afridi? 🤔#cricket #PSL8 https://t.co/rEBnESukhx
— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) February 6, 2023
