Mohammad Hafeez launches fresh attack on Kohli using Stokes' example, Vaughan schools him again

Former Pakistan allrounder Mohammad Hafeez has once again criticised Virat Kohli and called him selfish for prioritising his hundred during India’s fixture against South Africa in Kolkata in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Notably, Kohli remained unbeaten on 101* (121) on a slow track as he levelled the record for the most ODI hundreds (49) of his idol Sachin Tendulkar.

However, the innings didn’t go down well with Hafeez who called him a selfish player for not going for big hits in the death overs of the innings. Further commenting on the matter, Hafeez used Ben Stokes’s hundred vs Netherlands during Match 40 of the tournament to launch a fresh attack on Kohli.

Also Read: ICC calls Virat Kohli's six off Haris Rauf 'shot of the century' in Instagram post

Hafeez stated that Stokes’ innings of 108 (84) was a perfect example of a selfless approach as he anchored the innings early on and attacked in the later stages to get the maximum runs for his side. The 43-year-old even tagged former England captain Michael Vaughan in his X post who had earlier defended Kohli and termed Hafeez’s opinion as ‘utter nonsense’.

Vaughan once again jumped to Kohli’s defence on Hafeez’s fresh attack on the star Indian batter and stated that Stokes’ innings was as good as Kohli's on a difficult pitch in Kolkata but Kohli’s knock was played against a better attack than Netherlands.

Further pulling Hafeez’s leg on X, Vaughan reminded him that he was clean bowled by Virat Kohli during the India vs Pakistan game in the 2012 T20 World Cup which could be a reason for his constant criticism of the Indian batter.

Ben Stokes scored his first hundred in ODI World Cup

Notably, in the post-match interview after the South Africa game, Kohli revealed that he was given the role to bat through the innings by the team management seeing the slowness of the surface. As a result, Kohli remained unbeaten on 101 helping India post 326/5 in their allotted 50 overs and win the match by 243 runs.

Also Check: Shot of the Day: Ben Stokes' inventive reverse sweep helps him get his 100 - ENG vs NED ODI World Cup 2023

Meanwhile, Stokes scored his first hundred in the ODI World Cup against the Netherlands and helped England post 339/9 in their allotted 50 overs. Courtesy of Stokes’ innings, England managed to win their second game of the tournament as they defeated the Dutch by 160 runs.