'My career, my choice', Mohammad Hafeez slams Ramiz Raja
What's the story
Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has slammed Ramiz Raja for retirement remarks. Earlier this year, the former cricketer had asked Mohammad Hafeez to retire gracefully. However, Hafeez hit back at him, stating retirement is his personal choice. The 39-year-old was included in Pakistan's recently announced 29-member squad for the upcoming England tour. Here is what Hafeez said.
Quote
Never started playing at someone's behest: Hafeez
"Ramiz bhai is a friend of mine. Everyone has the right to express themselves. But I'm not going to quit cricket because someone asks me to, same as I never started playing at someone's behest. Playing cricket for Pakistan is an honor," said Hafeez.
Mohammad Hafeez
A look at Hafeez's career
Having made his international debut in 2003, Hafeez has represented Pakistan in 364 matches. He boasts a terrific record in ODIs with 6,614 runs from 218 matches at an average of 32.90. The experienced all-rounder has also snapped up 246 international wickets at 34.28. In 2018, Hafeez announced retirement from Test cricket to focus on limited-overs cricket.
Squad
Hafeez was selected in the 29-man squad
Hafeez was dropped from the limited-overs squad following the 2019 World Cup, owing to his dismal show. However, he was recalled into the T20I side earlier for the Bangladesh T20I series, earlier this year. Notably, he has found the cut in the recently announced 29-man squad for England tour. The selectors will categorize the squad from the pool of players.
Squad
Here is Pakistan's full squad for England tour
Squad: Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Azhar Ali (C), Babar Azam (C), Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Haider Ali, Iftikhar Ahmad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imran Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Kashif Bhatti, Shadab Khan, and Yasir Shah.
Retirement
'Don't decide a player's career looking at the age'
Hafeez will be looking to get back into the mix for the impending T20 World Cup. "I don't know the fuss and it is (Ramiz's) opinion but I say don't decide on a player's career based on just his age," he added. "I hope I'll justify my selection again this time. All I would like to say is my career, my choice."