Mohammad Hafeez announces retirement from all forms of international cricket

One of the most wizened veterans of international cricket finally called time on his long-standing International career. Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. Even though it was long due, yet a man of his stature whose contribution to the sport is immense, his goodbye was bound to create a lot of ripples in the sport.

Hafeez started his international career in 2003 with his debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe. He played his last international game against Australia in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup semi-final where Pakistan were beaten in the dying moments of the game.

As he bade adieu to the sport, he managed to harness numbers of 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 119 T20Is that saw him piling up 12780 runs and claim a staggering 253 scalps.

Hafeez said, “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.”

He continued, “I am extremely fortunate, lucky and proud to have been considered worthy of donning the national kit with Pakistan emblem for 18 years. My country and my team have always been at my forefront and therefore, every time I stepped onto 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.”

He concluded by saying, “When you have a professional career as long as mine, you're bound to have your share of highs and lows, and I was no different. Results apart, I can say with conviction that I had more highs as I had the privilege of playing with and against some of the finest exponents of the bat and the ball of my era.”

Hafeez played his last Test way back in December 2018. He was not part of the ODI squad either with his last game coming against Bangladesh at the Lord’s. Mohammad Hafeez has managed to rack up the highest number of T20 World Cup appearances, being a captain of the indomitable Pakistan side in the 2012 T20 World Cup.

The PCB chairman, Rameez Raza quoted, “Hafeez has been a wholehearted cricketer who worked tirelessly at his game to have a long and fruitful career. His game evolved with time, adjusting to different formats quite intelligently. Later in his career, he became a T20 specialist, where he was never out of touch with the modern demands of this testing format. His batsmanship took a sprightly turn, nailing sixes almost at will.”

He added, "He has worn the green blazer with pride for which we at the PCB are thankful. I wish him the best of luck for his future life and thank him again for his magnificent contribution to Pakistan cricket."