There’s something about being Pakistani and never wanting to retire from international cricket. There’s the legendary Shahid Afridi who is still playing domestic cricket and PSL 2022 will be his farewell season. Another couple of people well into their forties now are Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez, the latter fondly known as ‘The Professor’ around the world.
However, there’s some saddening news for Pakistan cricket fans as the Professor believes it’s the right time to step down from international cricket, now 41 years old. While he was one of their leading T20I players in 2020 and 2021, he’s had a mediocre last couple of months and we honestly believe his decision couldn’t have been timed any better.
Mohammad Hafeez international retirement
With his Test debut coming against Bangladesh in April 2003, Hafeez’s international career spanned 18 years where he scored nearly 13,000 international runs across all three formats. He was already out of the longest format, with his last Test being played in 2018. Now, he took to social media to announce the end of his international career as a whole.
“My journey of pride representing 🇵🇰 came to an end & i m proudly retiring from international cricket with great satisfaction & joy. Thank u all for 18 years of support. Maintaining highest level of pride & dignity always is my most valuable achievement. Pakistan 🇵🇰 Zindabad,” said Hafeez on his Twitter account, where he has 3.4 million followers.
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What made him super great is that he was always good in the field and took wickets as well, with 253 international wickets to his name as well. He initially announced that the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup would be his last with the national side but the one year postponement kept him with the side until now.
And for those who are Hafeez fans, you have nothing to worry about because we think he’ll be around for something in the domestic and franchise league arena. After the World Cup itself, he was part of a couple of such tournaments in the 2021 Abu Dhabi T20 and then immediately at the Lanka Premier League 2021. Next, he’ll be in action at home in PSL 2022.
Hafeez retires from international cricket
My journey of pride representing 🇵🇰 came to an end & i m proudly retiring from international cricket with great satisfaction & joy. Thank u all for 18 years of support. Maintaining highest level of pride & dignity always is my most valuable achievement. Pakistan 🇵🇰 Zindabad
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) January 3, 2022
“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,” he said.
“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 modern demands of this testing format. His batsmanship took a sprightly turn, nailing sixes almost at will. He has worn the green blazer with pride for which we at the PCB are thankful. I wish him best of luck for his future life and thank him again for his magnificent contribution to Pakistan cricket,” said PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja.
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