'Shouldn't we set standards of dignity and pride?' - Mohammad Hafeez questions Sharjeel Khan's comeback calls

Sharjeel Khan broke into international cricket as a young 23-year-old batsman who didn’t know much other than hitting the ball across the fence. The stylish batsman earned a reputation of destroying bowling line-up at the top of the order. After initial support, Khan was dropped out of the national side due to his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in PSL 2017.

During the recent Pakistan Super League (PSL) season, the 30-year-old came back to cricket after serving his ban. Playing for Karachi Kings, the aggressive opener scored 199 runs in nine innings. His strike rate of 145 was far better than many top performers in the league.

With the Pakistan side still not getting the right combination for their upcoming ICC T20 World Cup campaign, the speculations regarding the comeback of Sharjeel resurfaced on the internet. However, Mohammad Hafeez is not impressed one bit with these talks.

Hafeez takes a dig at Sharjeel Khan about his spot-fixing case in 2017

Hafeez, who hardly minces his words, revealed that he feels that one should have a standard of dignity and pride when he goes to plays for Pakistan. “Shouldn’t we set Standards of Dignity & Pride Higher than any other “Extra Talent” to represent Pakistan. Just Askin,” his reply to one of the fans read who had asked if the left-hander should make a comeback.

The tweet felt like a sly dig on Sharjeel Khan‘s integrity as a player. He made a comeback to cricket this season after serving a two and half year ban. His ban was of actually five years due to his involvement in the spot-fixing scandal in PSL 2017.

Sharjeel Khan played last of his 25 ODIs back in early 2017. The left-hander had scored 812 runs with an average of 32.5. His strike rate of 113.4 in ODIs is quite good. His highest score is of 152. He has also played 15 T20Is scoring 360 runs at an average of 24 and a strike rate of 138. He has played one Test as well, but back in 2017 against Australia.

Earlier, Waqar Younis had talked about how Sharjeel could make a comeback if he can get his fitness right. “Sharjeel needs a lot of work right now. You can’t judge him on the basis of one or two innings. He needs to work on his fitness because where are we going to hide him in the field? Fielding is really important these days and especially in Australia where grounds are really big. Sharjeel has a lot of time after [the] PSL to get himself fit”, Waqar had said.