Mohammad Hafeez retires from international cricket

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez announced his retirement from international cricket on Monday, January 3. Fondly known as the 'Professor', Hafeez enjoyed an international career spanning 18 years.

In a release by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Hafeez was quoted as saying:

“Today I say good-bye 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. And, of course, my family who made big sacrifices to ensure I achieved my aspirations of representing Pakistan at a global stage."

He went on to add:

"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."

Here's what PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja said about the veteran all-rounder:

"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."

Hafeez will continue playing franchise cricket, however.

Hafeez made his international debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in 2003 and his final game was the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final against Australia, which Pakistan lost.

Hafeez calls curtains on illustrious international career

An aggressive batter and a handy off-spinner, Mohammad Hafeez played 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 119 T20 Internationals (T20Is) for Pakistan.

He scored 3652 runs and took 53 wickets in Tests, while in ODIs, he accumulated 6614 runs and claimed 139 scalps. In T20Is, he finished his career with 2514 runs and 61 wickets.

He retired from Tests in 2018 and the selectors moved on from him in ODIs after the 2019 World Cup.

Hafeez had announced that the 2020 T20 World Cup would be his last assignment with the international team. But he extended his Pakistan career by another year as the tournament got postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hafeez played a supporting role in Pakistan's campaign at the 2021 T20 World Cup as they notched convincing wins against India and New Zealand en route to the semi-finals.

Hafeez, at 41, was among the longest-serving members in the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup, behind just Shoaib Malik. He holds the record for most T20 World Cup appearances for Pakistan. He also captained them in the 2012 and 2014 editions.

In 2012, Pakistan reached the semi-finals, while in 2014, they crashed out in the group stages. He played in every edition of the T20 World Cup for Pakistan except for 2009, when they won the tournament.