Shahid Afridi Photo © AFP

A completely unknown commodity, a teenage cricketer one has not even heard of, who establishes a world record in only his second international outing is a clear indication of natural talent, cheeky confidence and limitless potential. An aggressive young Pathan, Shahid Afridi, then only 17, pulled off the impossible when he scored the fastest century in one-day cricket (off only 37 balls, 11 sixes), and that too against the finest exponents of the shortened version of the game, Sri Lanka.

But, despite this dazzling debut, and a few memorable innings following it, Afridi's international career has been an on-off affair. And, the latest setback has been his omission from the squad to England for the Test series. He, however, is likely to regain his place in the triangular series, which would follow the two-Test rubber, with Australia being the third team.

There are many who believe that Afridi should not be left out of any Pakistan team, be it a limited-overs outing or a Test match. To his protagonists, he is too good an all-rounder to be left out of the eleven, for he contributes to the team's cause by winkling out crucial wickets with his fastish leg-spin and stems the flow of runs with his athleticism in the field.

In addition to his all-round skills his undoubted charisma and the prospects of dazzling fireworks, if he gets into his stride, also brings spectators to the ground.

These are all valid arguments, more so because Afridi took a five-wicket haul on his Test debut against Australia in 1998-99 and followed it up with a big hundred, 142 to be precise, in his second Test against India at Chennai. At his best, Afridi is simply mesmerizing, a delight to watch. At his worst, he can be incredibly irritating, because he gets out time and again to the worst possible shot selection. At the start of the innings, his early departure upsets the whole game plan, and usually leaves the team in disarray.

A natural hitter of the cricket ball, his failure lies in his inability to curb his instinctive aggression when the situation so demands, lack of patience, and failure in disciplining himself to play as a team man, on occasions to just stay there and wait for the wayward deliveries.

But, on his day, he is a one-man demolition squad. The opposition fielders can do little but retrieve the ball, which usually lands far outside the biggest ground. Setting a field to him is well nigh impossible, as he improvises and out-maneuvers the bowling with a mocking glee. Then Afridi becomes one of a kind in the present world of generally plodding, mediocre cricket, and indeed transports us by his magic to the golden age of the game. Like the great England batsman of the late 19th and early 20th century, Gilbert Jessop (known as The Croucher), he 'hits sixes playing defensive'.

And this is Afridi's biggest quality, that he is a rare, indeed an endangered, species in the modern era due to his cavalier approach, natural batting genius and a chivalrous acceptance of any challenge, whatever the situation. Afridi is no exponent of the convenient art of padding up to an uncertain delivery, he lashes out at anything and everything. His instinct demands that every ball be hit, preferably hard, and preferably out of the stadium.

And in his element, just as stand-in Kiwi captain Craig McMillan acknowledged after his side was mauled for a 24-ball 50 that laid the foundation of a successful run-chase recently at Sharjah, Afridi is simply too dynamic a batsman to be stopped by any attack in the world. And, McMillan's assessment is not an exaggeration by any means!

© CricInfo Limited