Mohammad Hafeez
Mohammad Hafeez is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer. He was a member of the Pakistan team that won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, and had a major role in the final, where he scored an unbeaten innings of 57. He retired from Test cricket after the third and final match against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi in December 2018, departing the ground for the final time in white clothing to a guard of honour from his teammates. On 3 January 2022, he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket, ending a career that spanned more than 18 years.
He was the fourth international player to play in the Caribbean Premier League and the first Pakistani player to be named to be chosen for Twenty20 tournament. He is nicknamed "The Professor". The major teams for which he played are Pakistan, Lahore, Lahore Lions, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sargodha, Sui Gas Corporation of Pakistan. Hafeez scored his test career best of 224 runs against Bangladesh in 2015 at Khulna during the Dan Cake Series.
In August 2018, he was one of the thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board. In December 2018, during Pakistan's series against New Zealand, Hafeez announced that he would retire from Test cricket following the conclusion of the tour, to focus on limited-overs cricket. Hafeez said that the time was right to retire from Test cricket and that he was honoured to represent Pakistan in 55 Test matches, including captaining the side.
After a lackluster personal ICC 2019 World Cup campaign albeit a match-winning 84 batting at number 4 against England in the round-robin stage in 2019, he found new life as a T20 specialist for Pakistan and various leagues across the world. This culminated in him being the leading run scorer in T20I cricket in the world in 2020.
Domestic career
Hafeez made his first-class debut in February 1999 for Sargodha against Karachi, opening the innings. He struck his maiden first-class century in September 2001, 112 off 121 for SNGPL versus Khan Research Laboratories at Rawalpindi.In the President’s Trophy at Rawalpindi, Hafeez produced a dominant all-round display for SNGPL against United Bank Limited, taking 4 for 13 as UBL were dismissed for 165, then top-scoring with 193 off 301 balls in SNGPL’s 455/5 dec. UBL folded for 74 in the second innings to give SNGPL victory by an innings and 216 runs.
International career
Early years: 2003–2006
Hafeez was one of several young all-rounders whom the Pakistani cricket team turned to in order to revitalize their side after their poor display in 2003 World Cup where Pakistan was out from first round. He entered international cricket with his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Sharjah in April 2003, and his Test debut followed in August 2003 against Bangladesh at Karachi, where he made 51 off 151 in a seven-wicket win.In these early months of 2003, Hafeez had scored a half-century in only his second ODI innings and, in the Cherry Blossom Cup at Sharjah, took five wickets at 17.00 with an economy of 3.54. However, his form with both bat and ball was inconsistent and in late 2003 he was dropped from the Test squad and subsequently from the ODI side.
Following strong domestic performances, as well as some consistent showings for the Pakistan A side, he remained on the fringes of a recall in 2004. In the meantime he played a few matches as the professional at Settle Cricket Club, Yorkshire, in 2005. Hafeez returned to the ODI side in 2005 and despite poor form with the bat, his bowling performances were impressive. In the 2006 series held in Australia, Hafeez smashed his first century for Pakistan. With Pakistan struggling to find a solid opening pair for the Test side, he was recalled for the tour of England. His return to Test cricket was made at The Oval where he scored a fluent 95. He got used to English conditions after playing two seasons of Yorkshire League cricket in 2002 and 2005.
Subsequently, Hafeez retained his place in the Test squad for Pakistan's home series against the West Indies in November of that year. After getting out early despite good starts in the first two Tests, he went on to score his second Test century in the third Test in Karachi.
In 2010, in a widely noted practice match, Pakistan A, captained by Hafeez, defeated the senior Pakistan side, prompting scrutiny of preparation and standards ahead of the upcoming international assignment.
Recall in 2010
In 2010 he was recalled for the third ICC World Twenty20 squad. His form was poor scoring only 39 runs and taking only 2 wickets in 6 matches. However he was subsequently selected for the T20Is and the ODIs on Pakistan's 2010 tour of England. He was the second highest Pakistani run scorer in the ODI series producing some solid opening partnerships with Kamran Akmal. Following this good form he was included in the squad that was selected to play South Africa in the UAE and he replaced disgraced skipper Salman Butt as an opening batsman in both Tests, achieving a batting average 32.50. He played in all 5 ODI matches ending up as the top run scorer and he also topped the bowling averages for the series.At the end of 2010 he was also selected for the party that would tour New Zealand and the West Indies and this resulted in him establishing himself as a regular in the Test, ODI and T20 teams. During the third ODI of the New Zealand tour, Hafeez struck his maiden ODI century, anchoring Pakistan’s innings after early losses and then accelerating to set a platform for a late surge; Pakistan posted a winning total and defeated New Zealand by 43 runs to level the series 1–1. Hafeez’s innings combined counter-attack with control on a slow, low surface where New Zealand’s seamers failed to sustain pressure.
Since his recall, Hafeez had averaged nearly 33 in 19 ODIs, with one century and three fifties, while also contributing 13 wickets and providing a reliable fielding presence; his most productive stand in that period had come with Kamran Akmal, who had moved to No. 3. Analysing Pakistan’s ODI output after his 2010 recall, in 2011 ESPNcricinfo's S Rajesh described Hafeez’s “second coming”: as an opener he averaged ~35 in 26 ODIs with six 50-plus scores and a maiden century at Christchurch, an improvement of ~88% on his pre-2010 ODI average. With the ball he delivered about seven overs per match at 4.24 econ, regularly chipping in wickets, and collected three Man-of-the-Match awards in 2011. In that span, no Pakistan batter scored more ODI runs, Shahid Afridi matched the aggregate but in eight more games, while Hafeez’s partnership with Kamran Akmal averaged 60.70. The piece also contrasted his strong domestic T20 returns with a relatively modest T20I record to that point.
Rising through ranks
After scoring a Man-of-the-Match 83 in the third ODI against Sri Lanka at Dubai on 19 November 2011, Mohammad Hafeez said the innings reflected sustained work on his game since returning to the top of the order. The knock extended his productive run as opener and, combined with his offspin and fielding, underlined his value to Pakistan’s balance.In the only T20I at Mirpur on 29 November 2011, Hafeez was Player of the Match, contributing 25 off 31 balls as Pakistan reached 135/7, and then returning 2 for 11 with his offspin to help restrict Bangladesh to 85/9, sealing a 50-run victory. During Pakistan’s clean-sweep ODI series win in Bangladesh, Hafeez became only the third cricketer to complete the calendar-year double of 1,000 ODI runs and 30 wickets, a feat previously achieved by Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis.
Against India on 18 March 2012 in Bangladesh at Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur at the 2012 Asia Cup, he scored 105 off 113 balls and was involved in a 224 run partnership with Nasir Jamshed, which is the best opening partnership for Pakistan against India in one day internationals. They eclipsed Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar's record of 144 runs which was made in 1996. During this innings, Hafeez was forced to run a lot which towards the end was hampering him due to a leg injury. Subsequently, he earned the nickname, the Snake of Sargodha, for his zigzag running pattern between the wickets. He made his 4th ODI century in March 2012 against Bangladesh at Dhaka. He also made his highest test score of 196 against Sri Lanka in the second Test at Colombo in June 2012.
In December 2012, during the tour of Pakistani cricket team in India in 2012–13, he came across as a very different and aggressive batsman and scored so brilliantly and briskly and helped Pakistan to win the first T20I and 2nd ODI with his heroics of brilliant batting and nearly chasing a mountain high target of 191 in the second T20I. His scores were 61 and 55 in first and second T20I respectively and scored 76 runs in the 2nd ODI and sharing an opening stand of 141 with Nasir Jamshed and also bowled economically to help Pakistan win their first ODI series in India since 7 years. In this period, he was considered to be the main all-rounder of Pakistan team along with Shahid Afridi.
In January 2013, it had been noted that since the start of 2011, Hafeez’s returns in all formats outstripped his career aggregates: in ODIs his batting average climbed into the mid-30s with four centuries, while with the ball he was markedly more economical at 3.56 runs per over. In Tests over the period he averaged 40+, and in T20Is all four of his half-centuries arrived in this stretch. The standout figure was his ODI economy: across 52 matches the average economy of all bowlers was 4.59, against which Hafeez’s 3.56 was 22% better, the best among bowlers to deliver 150+ overs. His value included new-ball overs inside the first 15: 678 balls, 14 wickets, economy 3.11, and only 29 boundaries conceded. In T20Is too, his economy over the previous two years was a leading 5.87, versus 6.86 overall in his 21 games. With the bat he topped Pakistan’s runs in both ODIs and T20Is during the window and amassed 3000+ international runs across formats. He also collected 13 Man-of-the-Match awards in the span more than any other international player.
He had a great series against Sri Lanka in Dec 2013, where he scored 122 in the first match, 140* in the third and 113* in the fourth match. Thus he became, the second batsman after Zaheer Abbas to score 3 centuries in an ODI series. He was also noted for his contributions with his offspin bowling.
In the Sharjah Test against New Zealand, Hafeez returned from England, where his bowling action had been tested, and immediately struck 178 not out, his seventh Test century, to give Pakistan a strong opening platform. Although New Zealand ultimately won by an innings and 80 runs, Hafeez finished the series as Player of the Series with 418 runs and four wickets.
For his performances in 2014, he was named in the World ODI XI by ICC.
He was also named in the T20I XI by ESPNcricinfo for his performances in 2013.
On 8 February 2015, Mohammad Hafeez was ruled out of the 2015 Cricket World Cup with a calf injury, and was replaced by Nasir Jamshed.
Reflecting on Pakistan’s 2015 home-away Test series against England in the UAE, Mohammad Hafeez said the sustained swing and discipline of James Anderson and Stuart Broad was among the most challenging bowling he had faced, and that he had to tighten his technique, playing later and closer to the body, to succeed. The adjustments underpinned a prolific series for Hafeez, including a big first-Test hundred at Abu Dhabi, and emblematised his reputation as a methodical top-order batter nicknamed “the Professor.” Pakistan won the series 2-0 and Hafeez got the most runs, 380, including a score of 151.
In the final of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, coming down the order he hit a quickfire 57* off 37 deliveries, including three sixes and four fours.
On 4 December 2018, Hafeez announced he would retire from Test cricket after the ongoing Abu Dhabi match against New Zealand, telling selectors he wished to concentrate on his limited-overs career.
In the first ODI at Port Elizabeth on 19 January 2019, Hafeez guided Pakistan to a five-wicket win over South Africa with an unbeaten 71 off 63 balls, steadying a late wobble in the chase of 267 and earning Player of the Match.
In one of the opening matches of the 2019 Cricket World Cup, against England, Hafeez top scored with 84 off 62 deliveries, including eight fours and two sixes, helping Pakistan set a record target in World Cups of 348. He later took the important wicket of in-form Eoin Morgan. For his all-round performance he was declared Player of the Match.