Shahid Afridi is now the third most used bowler ever for Pakistan in One Day Internationals. Following is the list of Pak bowlers and the number of bowls they have thrown.
1. Wasim Akram: 18186 balls, 502 wickets, 36.22 strike rate
2. Waqar Younis: 12698 b, 416 w, 30.52 sr
3. Shahid Afridi: 9832 b, 211 w, 46.59 sr
4. Abdul Razzak: 9797 b, 246 w, 39.8 sr
5. Saqlain Mushtaq: 8770 b, 288 w, 30.45 sr
6. Aaqib Javed: 8012 b, 182 w, 44.02 sr
7. Mushtaq Ahmed: 7543 b, 161 w, 46.85 sr
8. Imran Khan: 7461 b, 182 w, 40.99 sr
9. Shoaib Akhtar: 6498 b, 218 w, sr 29.81
10. Azhar Mahmood: 6242 b, 123 w, sr 50.74
The above statistics are valid upto and including 3rd ODI between Pakistan and India played on November 11, 2007.
It
The statistics actually tell me that a more economical bowler in Shoaib Akhtar is over-looked, thanks to his personal antics, over Shahid Afridi who have a worse rate of wickets and runs-given. Amazing, PCB!
I don’t think good players necessarily make good coaches. That’s a big misconception.
When I first read these records I was surprised the Shahid Afridi who didn’t seem to have a long career (just my perception) was at #3 in terms of work load. That is what made me share these records here. Imran, Aaqib and Razzak all seemed to have longer careers but Afridi has bowled more balls than them. It shows how Afridi has used more as a bowler than a batsman and also much more ODI is getting played these years.
Some good points Expat. It’s pretty disappointing to see Abdur Razaq dropped abruptly and never given a second chance.