Muhammad Hafeez announces retirement after T20I World Cup
LAHORE: Cricket all-rounder Muhammad Hafeez on Friday announced that he would retire from Twenty20 Internationals after the T20 World Cup 2020.
Announcing the retirement during a press conference in Lahore, Hafeez said he aimed to play for the national team on the basis of his fitness and performance till the world cup later this year in Australia.
He said he wanted to execute the plans in his mind while representing Pakistan in the upcoming big event.
To a query regarding handing over of captaincy of Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars to a new face, the upper order batsman said it was prerogative of the franchise owner to appoint a captain so there was no issue at all for him.
Also Read: Hafeez, Shoaib get berths in T20 squad against Bangladesh
Veteran cricketers Muhammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have got berths in T20 squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh in Pakistan.
Misbah had defended inclusion of Shoaib and Abdul Hafeez saying that he felt that it was justified for their experience in the profession. He had said Muhammed Hafeez and Shoaib both had proved their mettle in the shorter format of the game.
Hafeez said he was starving to perform before the home crowd. It was an honour and pleasure to play here, he added.
Pakistan have named uncapped Ahsan Ali, Amad Butt and Haris Rauf in the 15-player squad for the 24, 25 and 27 January T20Is against Bangladesh in Lahore.
“We have replaced seven players who were part of the 16-player squad that lost 2-0 to Australia in November. Players missing out on selection are Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Irfan and Wahab Riaz,” said the press release issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Asif, Fakhar, Haris, Amir and Wahab were also members of the squad that lost 3-0 to Sri Lanka at home in October.
26-year-old Ahsan scored 131 runs in five matches at a strike-rate of just under 149 in the National T20 Cup in Faisalabad in October after scoring 178 runs at a strike-rate of over 130 for Quetta Gladiators in the PSL 2019, while 24-year-old Amad scored 80 runs at a strike-rate of 170 and also took 10 wickets at an economy-rate of 7.62 in the Faisalabad event. 26-year-old Haris, who took six wickets in Faisalabad, is the second leading wicket-taker with 16 in Australia’s Big Bash League.
