LONDON – Senior all-rounder and former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez hassaid the last few days have been very painful for him and his team as thenational side has come under severe criticism following their poor show inthe ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Hafeez told media at Lord’s following Pakistan team’s practice session onThursday that everyone—from the players to the management—was responsiblefor the team’s performance so far and that any single individual could notbe blamed.
“We failed collectively as a team. We could not produce a team effort andindividual brilliance did not help us either. In cricket these days, youneed team performance…input from everyone,” Hafeez highlighted. “We can’tblame any single person, everyone is responsible for failing to deliver,”the former captain said.
‘All is not lost’
The senior all-rounder was, however, hopeful that Pakistan would bounceback as the break after the game against India had given the team a chanceto regroup ahead of their match against South Africa. “All is not finishedfor us. We are focused on our next game and we are eager to win that match.We got ample time after the India game to regroup for a new beginning,”Hafeez said, hoping Pakistan was still alive in the tournament.
He also expressed his displeasure at the personal attacks on playersfollowing the team’s defeats. “Commenting on cricket is another thing, butto drag players’ families and attacking them is not a good thing,” heexpressed.
Replying to a question, Hafeez said opting to bowl after winning the tossagainst India was the team’s collective decision. “Team’s decision can’t bemade on what someone has tweeted. It was team’s decision. We didn’t bowlwell and that’s why we lost that game,” Hafeez said.