What has Afridi done for Pakistan in ODIs?

Career Span

312 Matches

ODI batting averge=24

ODI bowling average=35

Judge Afridi as a 'bowler?'
Afridi bowling vs. New Zealand: 41-0-4-200 (average 50 runs per wicket)
Afridi bowling vs. South Africa: 50-0-6-258 (average 43 runs per wicket)
Afridi bowling vs. England: 43-0-4-229 (average 57 runs per wicket)

He can be a useful and effective operator every now and then when he finds a magical spark, however by and large his bowling is rather average by international standards and can no longer be solely used as an excuse to justify his continuous selection in the ODI team. His batting is heavily inconsistent and unreliable as we all know and by no stretch of the imagination something which could be banked upon to deliver. Afridi's bowling form does no longer possess the same threat, venom and attacking trump card tag which he has shown at times and overall stats in both departments do not make great reading although one could argue he has served well(barring a few moments of stupidity). In my view, generally a good long term servant but an average player if anything. A good World Cup campaign where he shows some responsibility and produces some match winning efforts could slightly tilt the balance in favour of his overall rating, but for now let's consider the bigger picture and face the reality.

Nevertheless, he is leading the side in the World Cup so your support is needed. He can be a key impact player who can be unstoppable when he clicks. Surely he wants to achieve some sort of ODI legacy to somewhat justify the over excessive hyped up fan base he has attracted over the last decade or will he simply be renowned as a Mickey-mouse one dimensional cricketer for his heroics in twentyT20? The next 2 months shall decide...........