Pakistan All-Rounder Mohammad Hafeez Retries From International Cricket

Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday. The veteran all-rounder, who made his debut in 2003, has represented Pakistan in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 119 T20Is scoring 12,780 runs and taking 253 wickets. During a successful career, he won 32 Player-of-the-Match awards, the fourth-highest among Pakistan players in all international cricket, with only Shahid Afridi (43), Wasim Akram (39) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (33) placed ahead of him.

"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," Hafeez said in a statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Hafeez announces retirement from international cricket
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"And, of course, my family who made big sacrifices to ensure I achieved my aspirations of representing Pakistan at a global stage.

"I am extremely fortunate, lucky and proud to have been considered worthy of donning the national kit with Pakistan emblem for 18 years. My country and my team have always been at my forefront and therefore, every time I stepped on to the field, I tried to raise their profile and image by playing hard and tough but within the rich traditions of spirit of cricket," Hafeez, who also captained Pakistan in 32 matches, added.

Hafeez, a member of Pakistan Champions Trophy winning squad in 2017, played in three ODI World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2019), six T20I World Cups (2007, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2021) and three ICC Champions Trophy (2006, 2013 and 2017).

Former Pakistan batter and current PCB chief Ramiz Raja lauded Hafeez for a wonderful career. 

“Hafeez has been a wholehearted cricketer who worked tirelessly at his game to have a long and fruitful career. His game evolved with time, adjusting to different formats quite intelligently. Later in his career, he became a T20 specialist, where he was never out of touch with modern demands of this testing format. His batsmanship took a sprightly turn, nailing sixes almost at will," he said. 

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