Mohammad Hafeez Retirement: Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez announces retirement from international cricket.
Mohammad Hafeez Retirement
Earlier, Hafeez had retired from Test cricket in December 2018. He has subsequently been overlooked for ODIs after the 2019 World Cup with his last game coming against Bangladesh at Lord’s.
The veteran all-rounder recorded his final appearance for the Green Army against Australia at the T20 World Cup.
While he had initially announced that the 2020 T20 World Cup would be his final assignment for Pakistan, the tournament was pushed to 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Hafeez ended up extending his time with Pakistan team as a result.
Hafeez has the highest number of T20 World Cup appearances, having led Pakistan to the semifinal in the 2012 World T20. He also led the side in 2014 when Pakistan were ousted in the group stage. As a captain in T20Is, he led Pakistan to 18 wins in 29 games with 11 losses.
But after being dropped from the T20I side in 2018, Hafeez was recalled in 2020 for the home series against Bangladesh and ended the year with a remarkable run.
He was the leading run-getter in the format that year and scored at an average of 83 and a strike rate of 152. He also ended the year as the overall sixth-highest run-scorer across all T20s, with the third-highest average and the third-best strike rate.
He is the only Pakistan player to have played in all but one T20 World Cup – the one Pakistan ended up winning in 2009 – and holds the Pakistan record for most T20 World Cup appearances. Hafeez also led Pakistan to the 2012 World T20 semi-final.
He was also the captain when Pakistan crashed out in the group stage in the 2014 edition, the first time until then that they had failed to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament. His overall T20I record as captain stands at 18 wins – one via a one-over eliminator – and 11 losses from 29 matches.
Besides this, he played 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is for the country, including three ICC ODI world cups and six T20 world cups.
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