'They're learning too much, good phase for Shaheen Afridi' - Mohammad Hafeez mocks Lahore Qalandars

Former Pakistan captain and team director until only a few months ago, Mohammad Hafeez, feels that Shaheen Afridi who is captaining the Lahore Qalandars in PSL 9, is in a learning phase of captaincy. Hafeez made these comments in light of Qalandars’ terrible performance in the ongoing season in which they are yet to register a win in their first 6 matches.

Having entered PSL 9 as the reigning champions, Lahore Qalandars have looked nowhere near the level they were in last season. It is proving to be a very tough one for Shaheen Afridi, who is also most likely to lead the national team in the T20 World Cup 2024 later in June. Upon his difficult situation, Mohammad Hafeez feels that it’s a good learning curve for the left-arm pacer who is used to roses and daffodils in the PSL circuit.

Mohammad Hafeez mocks Shaheen and Lahore Qalandars

While speaking in the A Sports pre-match show along with Wasim Akram and Misbah-ul-Haq among others, Mohammad Hafeez happened to be mocking Shaheen Afridi and his Lahore Qalandars’ performance. He started off his segment with a quote before cryptically taking a brutal dig in a very sweet manner.

“There’s a famous saying for Lahore. You win or you learn,” Hafeez said via A Sports with a cunning smile. “They are learning too much I think.”

“But I think it’s a good phase for Shaheen to learn. To be very honest when you get too much success as a captain, you tend to think that everything is very easy. But in situations like these, you get the chance to reassess your character and you realize that there’s something I need to manage myself and also better than the previous games.”  

“And the mistakes they have made this season, it should be accepted. If you don’t accept in life, if you don’t accept that you are also responsible for the slump then you don’t learn at all. I think this is something very good for Shaheen’s learning as a captain and an important one. I’m not saying it’s a positive one but it will help him understand how to carry a team that wins a lot and how you manage when the same team suffers bad results,” Mohammad Hafeez concluded.

"It is a good phase for him as captain…" @MHafeez22 thinks #ShaheenAfridi will learn from #LahoreQalandars' struggling run in #HBLPSL9.#ASportsHD #ThePavilion #WasimAkram #MohammadHafeez #MisbahUlHaq #AzharAli #FakhreAlam #PZvLQ #IUvQG pic.twitter.com/qc0bLPm0sg

— ASports (@asportstvpk) March 2, 2024

Mohammad Hafeez concluded by saying that Lahore Qalandars’ management will be used to these losses as they had a similar situation in the first few seasons. And that they should revisit how they managed to win back-to-back PSL titles.

Misbah-ul-Haq heaps praise on Rassie van der Dussen

Moving ahead, another former captain and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq heaped praise on Lahore’s South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen who has scored most of their runs. Van der Dussen has amassed 300 runs from 6 matches at an average of 75.

“The biggest positive for them has been Sahibzada Farhan and Rassie van der Dussen. They have lost close matches and these two have carried the batting unit,” Misbah-ul-Haq said.