Didn't See The Match-Winning Intent: Mohammad Hafeez Takes Shot At India For Loss Against England In 2019 WC

Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has joined the long list of his compatriots questioning India’s intent during their 2019 World Cup match against England. Pakistan fans and their former cricketers have been constantly stating that India lost to England deliberately.

A win for India in that game would have sent England packing while Pakistan would have progressed ahead to the semifinal. However, the Virat Kohli-led side lost the high-scoring encounter by 31 runs. Chasing an improbable total of 338 against the spirited hosts and the eventual winners, India did stay in contention but eventually ended up on 306.

The loss was India’s only loss in the group stages before they lost the semifinal against New Zealand. On the other hand, Pakistan finished the tournament at fifth spot after missing out on the semifinal spot due to poor net run-rate. Pakistan cricket fraternity’s doubts over India’s intent have only increased in recent times after England allrounder Ben Stokes, in his book, claimed that he was surprised to see India’s approach while chasing.

Since then, former Pakistan cricketers like Abdul Razzaq, Sikander Bakht as well as Mushtaq Ahmed have stated that India lost the game deliberately. Last year, former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis had also questioned India’s approach just after the match ended.

Mohammad Hafeez’s reaction:

Unlike the former Pakistan cricketers and fans, Mohammad Hafeez was cautious with his words. While he did not say that the Men in Blue lost the game deliberately, he did take a dig at them by saying that the intent of winning the match was missing.

“Ask any cricket fan, everyone will say intent to play with spirit was not there. I don’t know about the results and who went out because of that. We played good cricket and we were out because of our small mistakes. So I can’t blame any result for that,” Mohammad Hafeez said during a video conference organised by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“But as a fan if I see the match, I did not see the match-winning intent. I felt bad for the sport. The encounter factor was missing where both teams were playing to win. The mistakes we made, we failed to tick a few boxes in the 2019 World Cup. But as a fan, that is my opinion about that game,” he added.

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