MUHAMMAD HAFIZ (PAKISTAN)

Introduction:

Mohammad Hafeez ( born 17 October 1980 in Sargodha, Punjab) is a Pakistani cricket player and the former captain of Pakistan national cricket team in the T20 format. He is a right-handed opening batsman and a right-arm off spin bowler. Hafeez usually opens the batting and forms part of the bowling attack. In 2012–2013, he has been ranked as the top all-rounder by the ICC Player Rankings in T20 format. He is known for his intelligent batting but also for aggressive shot plays when needed. He was involved in record opening partnership of 224 runs with Nasir Jamshed. As a player, Hafeez gives the team plenty of options: he usually bats aggressively at the top of the order, but his organised technique also means he can switch to defensive mode if required.

He was the fourth international player signed to the Caribbean Premier League and the first Pakistani player to be named to the new Twenty20tournament. He is widely regarded as The Professor. The major teams which he played are Pakistan, Faisalabad, Faisalabad Wolves, Guyana Amazon Warriors, Kolkata Knight Riders, Sargodha, Sui Gas Corporation of Pakistan. He can be a player that was trusted over the years and Shahid Afridi has given the trust as he does with the many other captains over the years. Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have given most runs out of all players in T20s and ODI.Hafeez scored his test career best of 197 falling short of 3 runs for his first double ton.

Career:

Mohammad Hafeez also known as professor and he played in bhera and 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. 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 display of good form for the Pakistan A side, he remained on the fringes of a recall in 2004. 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. 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. However his form remained inconsistent and he was unable to command a regular place in either the Test or ODI side over the next 5 years.

Captaincy:

He was appointed captain of the Pakistan T20 team in May 2012. During the T20 World Championship in Sri Lanka in September 2012, Pakistan reached the semi-finals where they lost to the home side. After the tournament, there was some controversy with veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq who was critical of his non-selection for a number of matches. Hafeez also came into some conflict with the PCB over their view that he adopted a rather unilateral and non-consultative approach while making selection decisions. However, he was supported by the coach Dav Whatmore and both of them emphasised the poor fitness levels of many players. The PCB committee decided that they would subsequently closely monitor Hafeez's performance in this context during the coming tours to India and South Africa. As a captain,he led Pakistan to victories over South Africa,west indies,thet20 champions and Zimbabwe .He equalled the records of most wins as a Pakistani captain in t20 and most number of away series wins as a Pakistani captain Under his leadership,Pakistan managed to move up to the second position in the rankings. He also became the first Pakistani captain to hit three fifties in a row and became Pakistans leading run scorer in t20s. after Pakistan's exit from the T20 World Championship Hafeez apologized on behalf of his team and stepped down as captain.Imran khan,Pakistans former captain criticised this decision and advised Hafeez to stay as captain.His resignation was a rare incident in Pakistan cricket.

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