'You have been a flag-bearer for Pakistan' - Twitterati give Mohammad Hafeez a grand salute on his international retirement
Having served the country for so long, Hafeez exuded his flair to go down as one of the best players the nation has witnessed.
Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez who captained the national side in all three formats announced his retirement from international cricket. However, he will continue playing franchise cricket across the world. He has signed up with Lahore Qalandars for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League.
Hafeez had bid adieu to the longest format of the game back in the year 2018 wherein he ended his nearly 20 years long career. The all-rounder has featured in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is for the country which includes as many as three ICC ODI World Cups and six T20 World Cups. He made his debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003 and played his last game for Pakistan against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-final.
He has had an illustrious career wherein the all-rounder won 32 Player-of-the-Match awards which are the fourth-highest among Pakistan players in all international cricket. Only Shahid Afridi (43), Wasim Akram (39), and Inzamam-ul-Haq (33) are the other Pakistan greats who are placed ahead of him. Also, Hafeez bagged nine Player-of-the-Series awards as he is joint-second in the all-time list with Imran Khan, Inzamam, and Waqar Younis.
“Today I say goodbye 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.
I am extremely fortunate, lucky, and proud to have been considered worthy of donning the national kit with the 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 the spirit of cricket,” Hafeez said in a statement released by the Pakistan Cricket Cricket Board (PCB).
Having served the country for so long, he exuded his flair to go down as one of the best players the nation has witnessed. Across formats, he scored 12,780 runs and scalped 253 wickets. As he announced his retirement, the cricketing fraternity and fans reacted to it in numbers.
Here is how Twitter reacted to Mohammad Hafeez’s retirement:
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