Mohammad Hafeez

Nicknamed as ‘the professor’, Mohammad Hafeez is an all-rounder who plays for Pakistan and made his international debut way back in 2003. Hafeez is a right-handed explosive batsman and a right-arm off break bowler who is predominantly known for his street smart strategies and unorthodox thinking. Hafeez took his time initially to settle into international cricket, but by 2010, he was part of Pakistan team across all three formats. 

An explosive opener, Hafeez was brought into the squad after Pakistan’s exit from the 2003 World Cup, where the team performed poorly. He had a dream start to his international career, scoring his maiden ton against Bangladesh in his second Test match. However, the honeymoon period was over quickly as he was out of the Test setup for the next 3 years. Strong performances in the domestic circuit brought him back to the Pakistan Test squad in 2006.

Hafeez’s biggest concern had been the inability to convert good starts into a mammoth score, and that was the reason why he got dropped again in 2007. It wasn’t until 2010 that he cemented his place across all the three formats of the game.

Post 2010, his average in Test cricket increased and he formed a stable opening partnership alongside Taufeeq Umar. The duo complemented each other well as Hafeez was more of an aggressive player, while Umar had a defensive approach to his game.

2011 was a special year for Hafeez as he grabbed an incredible ten Man of the Match awards in ODI cricket and became only the third cricketer after Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis - to score 1000 plus runs and take 30 or more wickets in an ODI calendar year.

Against India in 2012, Hafeez slammed 105 and shared a 224 opening run stand alongside Nasir Jamshed, which is the best opening partnership for Pakistan against India in ODI cricket. Following some staggering performances, Hafeez was appointed the new T20 skipper for Pakistan and was named the deputy to Misbah-ul-Haq in ODIs.

In the same year, Hafeez continued his good form in the longest format of the game and recorded his highest-Test score of 196 against Sri Lanka. 

In December 2012, Pakistan toured India, and it was the all-round performance of Mohammad Hafeez that propelled a series victory for them. He scored 97 runs in the three match ODI series, and picked up 3 wickets, being the most economical bowler for Pakistan.

Hafeez was a part of Pakistan squad for the 2015 World Cup, but was eventually ruled out, 6 days prior to the start of the tournament due to a calf injury.

Pakistan performed poorly in the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, and were eliminated in the group stage. Hafeez was one of the senior players, who performed poorly with both bat and the ball.

In 2017, Pakistan locked horns with Australia, and in the second ODI, regular skipper Azhar Ali was ruled out due to an injury, and as a result Hafeez was promoted as the stand-in skipper. Pakistan won that match and Hafeez played a sublime innings of 72 to take his side past the finishing line.

In April 2019, he was named in the World Cup squad for Pakistan. He started the tournament on a positive note and was named man of the match in Pakistan’s second match against England. He scored a quickfire 84 of a mere 62 deliveries and picked up the all important wicket of Eoin Morgan. However, he was average for the rest of the tournament as Pakistan crashed out of the tournament in the group stage.

Post 2019 World Cup, Hafeez has played T20 cricket across the globe and has earned the reputation of being a big hitter at the top of the innings.

Hafeez has had a stellar career for Pakistan. A great explosive batter right at the top and a really street smart off spinner. He has done well for his country and now at the twilight of his career, Hafeez will look to nurture the youngsters before he bids farewell to this game.

(As of March 2021)