Mohammad Hafeez Retires From International Cricket
Mohammad Hafeez Retires From International Cricket

Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez is on Monday announced his retirement from international cricket. Hafeez has played 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 119 T20 International matches for Pakistan.

Hafeez made his debut against Zimbabwe at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in an ODI match in 2003. He will end up his 18 years of international cricket with a lot of fond memories on the field.

The Pakistan all-rounder thanked his teammates, coaching staff and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for theit immense contribution in his prolonged career.

Today I say goodbye to international cricket with pride and satisfaction. In fact, I have earned and accomplished more than I had initially envisaged and for that, I am thankful to all my fellow cricketers, captains, support staff and the Pakistan Cricket Board who helped me out during my career,” Hafeez said.

“I am extremely fortunate, lucky and proud to have been considered worthy of donning the national kit with Pakistan emblem for 18 years. My country and my team have always been at my forefront and therefore, every time I stepped on to the field, I tried to raise their profile and image by playing hard and tough but within the rich traditions of spirit of cricket.

“When you have a professional career as long as mine, you’re bound to have your share of highs and lows, and I was no different. Results apart, I can say with conviction that I had more highs as I had the privilege of playing with and against some of the finest exponents of the bat and the ball of my era.”

Mohammad Hafeez played his last international match against Australia in T20 World Cup

Hafeez was part of Pakistan’s tremendous T20 World Cup campaign in UAE, where they lost to Australia in the semi-final. The 41-year-old scored 85 runs from five innings and returned with one wicket with the ball.

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Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik
Image Source: Twitter

In December 2018, Hafeez announced his retirement from Test cricket after the Test series against New Zealand in UAE. Hafeez hasn’t represented Pakistan in One Day Internationals after the 2019 World Cup, his last match in the format came against Bangladesh.

Hafeez had initially planned to retire from international cricket after the end of the T20 World Cup in 2020, but owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was pushed a year later.

Mohammad Hafeez is Pakistan’s 4th highest run-scorer in all formats

Hafeez scored 12,780 runs from 392 games across all formats and claimed 253 wickets with the ball.

Hafeez is the only Pakistan player to represent the team in all the ICC T20 World Cup tournaments. He bagged 32 player of the match awards in his illustrious international career, only behind Inzamam-ul-Haq (33), Wasim Akram (39), and Shahid Afridi (43) from Pakistan.

hafeez and sarfaraz
Hafeez and Sarfaraz [photo: TV 9 bharatvarsh]
Hafeez was also part of Pakistan’s 2009 T20 World Cup title triumph. He was part of Sarfaraz Ahmed’s victorious team that defeated arch-rivals India in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy final in London.

After winning against New Zealand in the Dubai in T20 World Cup, Hafeez dedicated Pakistan’s win to the country’s army forces as the Black Caps had pulled out from Pakistan’s tour citing security concerns.

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Hafeez will continue to play franchise cricket as he has signed a new deal with Lahore Qalandars for the upcoming edition of the Pakistan Super League 2022.

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