PCB Awards 2020: Javed hits out over Hafeez snub

Pakistan’s former cricketer Aqib Javed was left scathing after veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was recently ignored altogether, despite having a resurgent year in T20I cricket, during the PCB Awards for the year 2020.

In an exclusive interview with Express News, the former pacer stated that the PCB should add a ‘Most Obedient Player’ award to its list as well.

“If the PCB wants to personally target someone for telling the truth then they should also add the ‘Most Obedient Player’ award to the list. Cricket doesn’t need slaves; it needs players who stick by their principles. The 40-year-old is a role model for youngsters because of his prolific performances,” Javed said.

Hafeez did not receive a single award despite being nominated for the three categories of ‘White Ball Cricketer of the Year’, ‘Most Valuable Player of the Year’ and ‘Best Individual Performance of the Year’. The veteran all-rounder became the highest scorer in the T20 format for the year 2020 and the lack of awards for Hafeez received a lot of criticism from many circles.

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The 48-year-old believed that Hafeez was better suited for ‘Most Valuable Player of the Year’ or ‘Best Individual Performance of the Year’ award which were given to batsmen Babar Azam and Fawad Alam respectively.

“Cricket should be freed from personal grudges. There is no obvious reason for ignoring the prolific all-rounder from the awards. If Babar Azam was given the award for the ‘White Ball Cricketer of the Year’ then a person like Hafeez, who has even scored in harsh conditions for his country in T20s, could have been awarded the ‘Most Valuable Player of the Year’. If that was not possible then they should have at least acknowledged his incredible knock of 99 runs in New Zealand with the ‘Best Individual Performance Award of the Year’. He wasn’t even shortlisted in the category,” he said.

“Fawad Alam had a chance but could not win or save the match for which he received the award. They are saying that Pakistan fought well. I have no idea how that can be said after a 102-run defeat,” he added.