Following the Pakistan cricket team’s early return from the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup, there has been growing criticism of the players back home.
Many former Pakistan cricketers have mocked the team for their poor performance at the World Cup, when they lost in the Super Over in their opening match against Team USA, then failed to mount a seemingly easy comeback against India. While the weather sealed their fate, Pakistan’s performance drew considerable criticism at home.
Now, a video has emerged in which former Pakistan player Mohammed Hafeez, who served as Pakistan’s national team coach from November 2023 to February 2024, slams the attitude of Pakistan players.
Recalling an incident from a Test match in an interview with former cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan, Hafeez said, “Gilley, if players are sleeping in the dressing room and you’re playing Test cricket…if four or five players are sleeping in the dressing room, should you as a team director allow that?”
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When further asked if the players were tired and had slept, Hafeez explained, “I really don’t know. I went into the dressing room and there were four-five players sleeping in the dressing room during a Test cricket match. I thought, ‘How can you guys do that? If you do that, you can’t be part of this team. I want you to stay focused during the match’. Whatever the players do outside the match, it’s their life and I never interfere. But during the pro time of the match, I want the team members to stay focused on the match. Stay in touch. If you are a fast bowler, you can take a rest, have a good ice bath, but you need to be focused on the match of cricket just like the opposition team. You can’t switch off during the match but unfortunately the (Pakistani) media didn’t like that.”
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First uploaded: 20 Jun 2024 15:38 IST
