The dictionary defines genius as an exceptional natural capacity of intellect or talent.
Becoming the youngest ever player to hit an odi century hints at fantastic potential.
Hitting both the quickest and third quickest odi centuries of all time show an exceptional talent.
Scoring over 5500 odi runs and taking over 250 wickets show a player who has truly reached the top level of the international game.
But until recently Shahid Afridi has been thought of as a maverick, people have never been convinced that he could truly be classed as one of crickets geniuses.
Sunday changed all this.
Pakistans captaincy is the one position in international sport that can truly be classed as poisoned chalice. Shoaib Malik, Younes Kahn and Mohammed Yousuf have all been claimed as victims recently. Afridi saw these catastrophes as clearly as a Harbhajan Singh off break and smacked the problem out of the way in the same fashion. Afridi wasn't tampering with the ball, he was dodging a bullet. He was skillfully sidestepping the potentially career ending appointment as Pakistan captain by comitting pretty much about the worst crime he could in his first match. In the most obvious way he possibly could.
Afridi figured out what the previous captains missed, no matter how much the captain tries, disaster will befall them. Afridi it comitting this in his first match, has condensed the whole captaincy into one game, saving himself the prolonged stress and loss of form that has stricken the previous captains. Surely keeping Afridi in form is in Pakistan's best interests and therefore Afridi performed his role as captain perfectly. Boom Boom surely then finally outwitted the Pakistani captaincy curse and if that isn't genius, nothing ever will be.
Either that or its the worst sporting breakdown in the face of pressure since Van de Velde at the British Open.
