LAHORE – In the latest shocking turn of events for Pakistan cricket, the top-order batter and off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez has announced retirement from international cricket.
The versatile batsman, who is known for his intelligent batting but also for aggressive shots, announced retirement from Test cricket earlier in December 2018.
Speaking at a presser, he said playing for Pakistan is a pride for him, adding that he decided to retire from international cricket by himself. He added about playing the next World Cup but said “I decided to retire myself now”.
In a statement released by PCB, the noted player said “Today I say good-bye 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”.
His glowing career spanning more than 18 years with the Green Shirts, he started playing for Pakistan in 2003, with his last match turning out to be Pakistan’s defeat against Australia in the T20 World Cup semi-final last November.
‘Professor’ signed up with Lahore Qalandars for the upcoming edition of the country’s flagship league PSL and will continue to be available for franchise cricket around the world.
The former Pakistani skipper played 218 ODIs, 119 T20Is, and 55 Tests while amassing 12,780 runs across formats, and would up his career with 32 Player-of-the-Match awards.
It’s the fourth-highest among Pakistan players in all international cricket with only Shahid Afridi, Wasim Akram, and Inzamam-ul-Haq above him.
He was earlier dropped from the T20I side in 2018 and was recalled in 2020 for the home series against Bangladesh, and ended the year with being the top scorer in the format that year.
The star player also bowled handy off-spin for the most part of his career, and the effectiveness of which started to fade away after he remodeled his action on being reported.
