Hafeez ready for Test return, responds to Ramiz Raja’s advice

Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said that he is ready to play Test matches, on the upcoming tour of England, if needed.

Hafeez retired from the longest format of the game, in 2018, after the third Test against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi because he wanted to focus on the limited-overs format.  

While speaking to reporters in a teleconference, Hafeez also responded to former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja’s advice about retiring from international cricket ‘gracefully’.

“Ramiz Raja is free to express his opinion but my decision to play cricket or retire is not dependent on anyone’s advice,” said Hafeez. "If there comes any situation for me to play Test cricket on England tour then I'm available.”

“Players should not be discarded from the team on basis of their age. Only performance and fitness should be the criteria of selection,” he added.

It must be noted that Raja had asked all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Hafeez to bring the curtain down on their careers as it help Pakistan cricket.

“They should leave international cricket with respect and gracefully,” Raja was quoted as saying, back in April this year. “I think if they retire now it will help Pakistan cricket. We have a good pool of players and we must move ahead.”

ALSO READ: ‘Babar Azam’ queries register massive increase on Google

The right-handed batsman, Hafeez, also spoke about the playing under new rules and regulations, amid the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.  

“I think cricket has lost its charm due to new regulations amid Covid-19 but we will have to accept these and move on,” he said. “Criticising these rules, such as ban on saliva, is not the right thing to do.”  

He also talked about the 2019 World Cup match between India and England, which the former lost and hence made it difficult for Pakistan to qualify for the semi-finals of the event.

“Ask any cricket fan, everyone will say intent to play with spirit was not there,” he said. “I don’t know about the results and who went out because of that. We played good cricket and we were out because of our small mistakes. So I can’t blame any result for that.”

“But as a fan if I see the match, I did not see the match-winning intent. I felt bad for the sport. The encounter factor was missing where both teams were playing to win. The mistakes we made, we failed to tick a few boxes in the 2019 World Cup. But as a fan, that is my opinion about that game,” he added.