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Pakistan’s swashbuckling all-rounder Shahid Afridi has bowled his way to lead the Player of the Tournament chart at the ongoing World Twenty20 event here in South Africa.

With his aggressive approach to batting and his penchant for hitting sixes, purists said his game would be ideally suited to the Twenty20 format.

Instead, the 27-year-old has impressed the crowds in South Africa more for his bowling performances than with the willow in his hand.

His tricky brand of leg-spin has proved very successful so far and he is currently the second-leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 12 scalps at a remarkable average of 13.18 and economy rate of 6.80, considered as impressive in nascent version.

Though Afridi has not put together any big innings with the bat, yet 85 runs he has scored in the tournament so far have come at an express pace at a strike-rate of 212.50.

Afridi currently tops the ladder with seven points, followed by Australian Stuart Clark, Morne Morkel of South Africa and Sanath Jayasuriya of Sri Lanka. With the other two teams already knocked out, only leading Aussie pacer Clark can displace him at the top.

Others who could catch Afridi for the award are Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken and Matthew Hayden of Australia; Craig McMillan and Daniel Vettori of New Zealand; his teammates Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik; Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh of India.

Source:Cricket News