Former Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez made a major revelation, accusing the Pakistan Cricket Board of making a deal with Mohammed Amir and Imad Wasim for the T20 World Cup. Hafeez criticised the Pakistan cricketers after India’s six-run victory over Pakistan in the T20 World Cup match in New York on Sunday. After yet another defeat against India in the ICC’s flagship event, India now hold a 7-1 lead in the head-to-head series.
Chasing down 120 runs, Pakistan put in a miserable batting performance and a brilliant fight back from the Indian bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, restricted them to just 113/5 in the 20 overs.
Hafeez, a former Pakistan coach, was scathing in his criticism of the Pakistani committee for selecting players like Amir and Imad, who recently came out of retirement to play in the T20 World Cup.
“They (PCB) brought them here out of greed and made deals with players (Amir and Wasim) who ruined Pakistan cricket. I was in the domestic circuit and no one wanted to play domestic cricket. It’s because they told me ‘if any of us gets selected, we will accept it’. How can players who don’t even play Pakistan domestic cricket get selected,” Hafeez said.
Amir bowled an expensive Super Over against the United States where he was given just 18 runs, which proved too much for Pakistan, while Imad struggled with the batting against India, scoring just 15 runs off 23 balls.
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Hafeez revealed that the duo were asked to play for Pakistan for six months but turned down the offer, and are only returning now as there are no franchise leagues currently taking place.
“Six months ago, when they were asked to play for Pakistan, they said they wanted to play in league matches. As there are no league matches these days, they are playing in the World Cup. They are playing the World Cup as if it were any other league,” he added.
Left-arm pace bowler Amir retired from international cricket in 2021 but continues to play in franchise league tournaments, as does Imad, who retires in 2023. But that all changed for the duo with Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi being appointed president of the Pakistan Cricket Board, leading to them coming out of retirement and playing in the T20 World Cup.
