Perhaps when the flood-gates of criticism opened and Shahid Khan Afridi found himself caught up in a ‘drowning position’ he was forced to choose the path of courage and sanity, and to promote himself in the batting order against Bangladesh. He could have got out early too because of the recklessness with which he bats, but it would not have mattered much as Hafeez and Shahzad had laid the foundations of a formidable total. But Afridi rode the luck of the brave and fought his way back into the esteem of his admirers.
Afridi is a pinch-hitter. And the role of a pinch-hitter in the shorter version of the game is in the top order. In the ‘death overs’ a team needs a more scientific hitter like Misbah or Abdul Razaque.
Pakistan on the 16th of March was a different team, as Bangladesh’s flamboyant prime minister should have discovered to her agony.
No team can carry the ‘favourite’ tag in this tournament as India learnt in their match with New Zealand, and England against Gayle’s West Indies.
A single outstanding performance from any player can cause a huge upset.
Pakistan has some dependable names in this context. Like Shahzad, Hafeez and Umar Akmal in batting, and Amir and Irfan in bowling. And the all-rounders Afridi, Imad Wasim and Shoaib Malik can’t be ruled out.
