The Mohammad Hafeez bowling mystery versus India

[Saj]

Hafeez was given zero overs by Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Most of the time in the field Hafeez stood around with his hands in his pockets looking disinterested.

As a senior player he offered Sarfaraz no advice or help in the field.

At the press conference Mickey Arthur stated that Hafeez was fine to bowl and Mickey had a surprised look on his face when asked why Hafeez had not bowled against India.

Seems from Mickey's body language and his expressions and what he said, that he was very surprised that Hafeez was not given a bowl by Sarfaraz.

Coach and skipper on different wavelengths perhaps?

Hafeez not in Sarfaraz's good books perhaps?

 

[kingusama92]

It was odd.

He bowled against the WI and in the warm up against Bangladesh.

I was waiting for him to be brought on against Dhawan but it never happened. There has to be a reason as that doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Xoib]

Sarfraz had stage fright bowling Kohli when he just came in was the breaking point showed there was no working thought process just aimless cricket.

 

[Savak]

Poor captaincy by Sarfaraz. But then again, couldn't Hafeez have taken initiative, approached Sarfaraz and volunteered to bowl himself?

Our players don't take initiative themselves either? No body goes up to the coach, captain let me go to No 3, No 4 and i will win the match for you.

 

[kingusama92]

Poor captaincy by Sarfaraz. But then again, couldn't Hafeez have taken initiative, approached Sarfaraz and volunteered to bowl himself?

Our players don't take initiative themselves either? No body goes up to the coach, captain let me go to No 3, No 4 and i will win the match for you.

Why ask when captain sends you at #4 anyway?

 

[Pete Rose]

Hafeez has been batting in the 'team sobotage' way for the last three months. Perhaps he irked the captain who expects Hafeez to justify his place as a batsman first. Or could be that he wants to open but is not allied to so there's a Cold War there.

 

[wasimjunior]

Hafeez should be dropped. Past his best with the bat and not required with the ball.

 

[coy0607]

There is definitely more to this than meets the eye

There is no way a regular bowler like Hafeez goes through a game without bowling a single over. Arthur or Sarfraz need to answer on this- they absolutely can't sit there and "act surprised"

Cricket in Pakistan is turning into a complete mockery

 

[Smbhayi]

did Hafeez practice bowling on nets prior to the match?

 

[pakteam#1]

IN the pakistan cup the highest run scorers list.

fakhar zaman, sahibzada farhan, sami aslam, umar amin, haris sohail.. these guys couldnt have done any worse today then the present lot ttf

Most runs
Player Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 0 4s 6s
Mohammad Hafeez 5 5 0 362 123 72.40 364 99.45 1 3 0 38 7
(Federal Areas)
Sami Aslam 5 5 0 333 169 66.60 291 114.43 2 0 0 35 9
(Federal Areas)
Sahibzada Farhan 5 5 0 331 112 66.20 320 103.43 1 4 0 38 9
(Balochistan)
Fakhar Zaman 5 5 0 308 104 61.60 301 102.32 1 3 0 38 3
(Balochistan)
Umar Amin 4 3 0 296 156 98.66 278 106.47 2 0 0 24 12
(Punjab (Pakistan))
Iftikhar Ahmed 4 4 1 244 138* 81.33 237 102.95 1 1 0 23 7
(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Haris Sohail 5 5 0 236 117 47.20 246 95.93 1 2 0 17 6
(Federal Areas)
Khurram Manzoor 4 4 1 227 118* 75.66 172 131.97 1 1 0 31 8

 

[Saj]

did Hafeez practice bowling on nets prior to the match?

Yes he did.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Malik is a better bowler than Hafeez. Is there any chance that Hafeez is dropped from squad ? I am done with this selfish player.

 

[pakteam#1]

sherjeel khan, khalid latif and shahzaib hassan are three of the best hard hitting batsmen for pakistan one day team, and so conveniently they have been embroiled in this betting approach scam.
why werent khalid and shahzaib selected in one days and t20 teams last year.

 

[MMHS]

There is definitely more to this than meets the eye

There is no way a regular bowler like Hafeez goes through a game without bowling a single over. Arthur or Sarfraz need to answer on this- they absolutely can't sit there and "act surprised"

Cricket in Pakistan is turning into a complete mockery

I think it's his bowling action - MoHa himself might not have been interested to bowl in an ICC event. One reason being that in bilateral, umpires try to be controversy free (host board as well), but that obligation isn't there in ICC events. Personally, I can say that, had those been ICC event, MoHa won't have been able/allowed to bowl after 2nd ODI at MCG (last AUS tour) - there were blunt chucking.

I won't be surprised if Sarfu comes with a statement that MoHa himself wasn't interested. Despite IND having Dhawan as opener, Sarfu opened with Imad instead of his customary spin opener against Lefti - doesn't sound straight.

 

[TahirFan]

The Proteas always give JP Dumminy a few overs if one on the specialist bowlers is having a bad day. Wahab was having a bad day and Hafeez should have taken over from him

Poor captaincy, poor coach, poor selection is leading to Pakistans downfall

 

[ahmedwaqas92]

I think it's his bowling action - MoHa himself might not have been interested to bowl in an ICC event. One reason being that in bilateral, umpires try to be controversy free (host board as well), but that obligation isn't there in ICC events. Personally, I can say that, had those been ICC event, MoHa won't have been able/allowed to bowl after 2nd ODI at MCG (last AUS tour) - there were blunt chucking.

I won't be surprised if Sarfu comes with a statement that MoHa himself wasn't interested. Despite IND having Dhawan as opener, Sarfu opened with Imad instead of his customary spin opener against Lefti - doesn't sound straight.

This !! Hafeez knows that he will be called for chucking in an ICC event which in turn will undermine his position in the team since he'd have to solely justify as a batsman. Sarfraz and Hafeez might have a subliminal understanding on this issue and it's been left like how we all saw yesterday.

Hafeez was chucking to his hearts content during that 2nd ODI in MCG

 

[90MPH]

What can you say other than disgusting defensive captaincy yesterday.

So disappointed with Sarfraz - for all the talk of being aggressive pre game it turned into a very robotic timid display of captaincy. Just one plan and no plan B.

 

[superman]

His attitude was wrong maybe seeking a captancy coup i dunno. When shoiab malik came out to bat he 100% wanted to win Hafeez meh I dunno

 

[JibranAnsari]

The way sarfraz opened with imad , not bowling hafeez was 'out of box' thinking by sarfraz.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Maybe worried he might get called for throwing? I don't know Hafeez has always looked nervous against India. Will never forget him totally losing in 2014 wc toss with Dhoni. Remember Nass Hussein asing him if he made any changes and Hafeez was sweating already and couldn't recall anything. Nass understood that and sent him back laughing.

 

[Kashmiri_Pak_fan]

The point is if Hafeez not bowled due to of its icc tournament match then it must had been decided before match and in no way during the match then why didn't Arthur know about it?

 

[Finisher]

Sarfraz wants to bat at 4 I think.

 

[Confucius]

The special one needs to be dropped. From being "gifted" in all departments to frankly a burden. The only world class factor Hafeez has been bringing to the table is his moustache.

 

[Azlan Khan]

What's more astonishing is that Sarfaraz preferred Malik over Hafeez. Really really surprising to say the least that Hafeez wasn't given one over.

If they were playing Hafeez as a pure batsman, then why didn't they pick Haris Sohail for that matter? Completely out of the box thinking..

 

[Saj]

What's more astonishing is that Sarfaraz preferred Malik over Hafeez. Really really surprising to say the least that Hafeez wasn't given one over.

If they were playing Hafeez as a pure batsman, then why didn't they pick Haris Sohail for that matter? Completely out of the box thinking..

Interesting point this as usually Hafeez is one of the go-to options with the ball and usually bowls before Malik.

 

[HinderTheJinder]

He himself didn't want to bowl I guess because he would have been in pressure and gone for runs

 

[New Yorker]

Interesting point this as usually Hafeez is one of the go-to options with the ball and usually bowls before Malik.

Malik is a waste of space as a bowler. Just there to make up the numbers. Hafeez used to play his part very well. But if he can't do even that there is just no reason to have him around. Awful fielder to boot.

 

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Sarfraz wants to bat at 4 I think.

And he should

He was brilliant the last time he was at England , was is he now accommodating Professor?

 

[The_Odd_One]

Because he is a chucker who will be caught in a big tournament like CT.

 

[the Great Khan]

puzzled with this one..why didnt he? he may have nicked a couple and given us a chance? very very weird..

 

[UN talkz]

Hafeez was given zero overs by Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Most of the time in the field Hafeez stood around with his hands in his pockets looking disinterested.

As a senior player he offered Sarfaraz no advice or help in the field.

At the press conference Mickey Arthur stated that Hafeez was fine to bowl and Mickey had a surprised look on his face when asked why Hafeez had not bowled against India.

Seems from Mickey's body language and his expressions and what he said, that he was very surprised that Hafeez was not given a bowl by Sarfaraz.

Coach and skipper on different wavelengths perhaps?

Hafeez not in Sarfaraz's good books perhaps?

Interesting, before this match they were making fun of India and mickey was lauding his relationship with Sarfaraz and now it just the other way maybe.....
Their is one thing i cant understand how can a coach select anybody in the team..
he surely can have a say but how can he select anyone

 

[Dr_Bassim]

Because Hafeez probably knew he would have to resort to chucking and be called in ICC event. And Indians are better players of spin, so why take such a risk?

He might take the risk against South Africa, who might even struggle against his non-chuck spin.

 

[Pete Rose]

the captain doesnt want hafeez there. i cant blame him.

 

[LordEddardStark]

Sarfaraz does not want Hafeez in the team. He had even dropped him on WI tour and stated the same at toss. But Hafeez is that cockroach that lives on, even if the world around him collapses altogether.

And here Sarfaraz is being called a defensive captain despite the fact that everybody knows that he is a Yes Man and would never do anything that could spoil his relationship with any senior or board. This decision was mutual. Hafeez was clearly chucking during last tour and we all were saying that he'll be caught during CT. If we know that, wouldn't the clever "professor" Hafeez be fearing the same? Yet Sarfaraz is taking all the blame.

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sarfraz has already sacrificed his no 4 position for Hafeez and soon might sacrifice his captaincy mainly because of Hafeez nd other mediocre players. Time to take a bold step and drop these players especially Hafeez. Haris, Fakhar, Malik, Babar can easily bowl 10 overs.

 

[in_cutter]

Good stuff from Sarfaraz. Hafeez is now useless as they come. He needs to be kicked out.

 

[Speedster777]

Sarfraz will have to take a bold step and drop azhar, hafeez , shehzad and wahab for next match otherwise he would have to leave his captaincy.

 

[Saj]

the captain doesnt want hafeez there. i cant blame him.

Well he should have the guts to drop him then.

 

[Boi]

By not bowling and chipping in with a wicket or two he has less of a hold on the team. After his diabolical knock with the bat Sarfraz has every right to drop him. Let's see what happens with the team selection next game.

 

[PAKNeedThinker]

he did not bowl because captain want to save him becasue its another icc tournment and 100% they will again banned professor for his action

 

[Muhammad10]

Remarkable reluctance to utilise one of the three "blessed facets".

 

[KyoOne]

Hafeez was Misbah's boy. Not everyone likes carrying passengers in his team

 

[Madplayer]

Sarfraz had stage fright bowling Kohli when he just came in was the breaking point showed there was no working thought process just aimless cricket.

Truth be told, you have used the perfect word to describe sarfaraz's captaincy against india. Aimless.

 

[Madplayer]

Well he should have the guts to drop him then.

He couldnt have done it then. He can now. All part of his grand plan.

 

[imranyounus]

I am not an eye witness to what happened there but truth must come out weather it was Hafeez who refused to bowl or the captain himself did not think he was good enough.

but given the fact Sarfarz decisions in the match he did not even give Shoaib more overs even though Wahab was struggling

 

[Hawkeye]

the captain doesnt want hafeez there. i cant blame him.

Which is odd because as a bowler he's more than handy - in fact still one of the best in the world at least in economy.

 

[MMHS]

I am not an eye witness to what happened there but truth must come out weather it was Hafeez who refused to bowl or the captain himself did not think he was good enough.

but given the fact Sarfarz decisions in the match he did not even give Shoaib more overs even though Wahab was struggling

What about mutual understanding?

 

[JibranAnsari]

What about mutual understanding?

It was more sarfraz trying to imply his own version of 'out of box' thinking.

 

[MMHS]

Sarfraz will have to take a bold step and drop azhar, hafeez , shehzad and wahab for next match otherwise he would have to leave his captaincy.

Mutually exclusive idea - he can only stay safe as Captain by pampering them, not other way.

 

[ExplicitAI]

There's nothing personal with the players, Sarfraz gets on very well with everyone which was evident in his T20 captaincy, it's definitely the chucking factor with Hafeez. Umpires are going to snitch on him as soon as he bowls his first delivery, that's why Sarfraz is sticking with Malik who's better in batting, bowling and fielding.

 

[MMHS]

It was more sarfraz trying to imply his own version of 'out of box' thinking.

That can be true for opening with Imad - but not for 50 overs, when a lefti batted for almost entire period at one end & Mian Malik was given 2 overs. And, MoHa wasn't injured, neither stopped bowling at nets.

I know exactly what's the reason - I can't prove, so don't challenge me on that. Somehow, if Inzi can protect few players from the curse of CT, at the expense of Fakhar & Haris - golden days against SRL in UAE is awaiting - a multiple entry visa for 2019 WC. At this critical juncture of career, how do you expect Sarfu to call MoHa, bowling in an ICC event?

 

[adil_909]

why did nobody as this question to sarfraz in the press conference? or did they and i've just missed it somewhere?

 

[On_the_up]

In his own words, things were under control till 40 overs. That tells you all you need to know. They were happy that India were only going at a run rate of 5.5 @ 220-2 (40)

Seemed the lack of wkts taken wasn't a concern after having put the team in to bat!

Wahab was atrocious throughout, and gave away any control being exerted from the other end.

Lack of overs from Malik/Hafeez was baffling, for the consiracy theorists if you wan't Hafeez out of the team, wouldn't you actually send him in the lions den by bowling him against the Indian lineup?

 

[FreePalestine]

It was incredibly frustrating. Wahab shouldn't have been playing in the first place, but definitely should not have bowled after that atrocious first spell. I blame Sarfraz. It was idiotic captaincy not to bowl Hafeez, not that it would have made much of a difference..

 

[MightyObnoxious]

Hafeez was given zero overs by Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Most of the time in the field Hafeez stood around with his hands in his pockets looking disinterested.

As a senior player he offered Sarfaraz no advice or help in the field.

At the press conference Mickey Arthur stated that Hafeez was fine to bowl and Mickey had a surprised look on his face when asked why Hafeez had not bowled against India.

Seems from Mickey's body language and his expressions and what he said, that he was very surprised that Hafeez was not given a bowl by Sarfaraz.

Coach and skipper on different wavelengths perhaps?

Hafeez not in Sarfaraz's good books perhaps?

Perhaps the rumors of Hafeez as new test captain has caused a rift between the two? After all, this is Pakistan Cricket.

 

[adil_909]

In his own words, things were under control till 40 overs. That tells you all you need to know. They were happy that India were only going at a run rate of 5.5 @ 220-2 (40)

Seemed the lack of wkts taken wasn't a concern after having put the team in to bat!

Wahab was atrocious throughout, and gave away any control being exerted from the other end.

Lack of overs from Malik/Hafeez was baffling, for the consiracy theorists if you wan't Hafeez out of the team, wouldn't you actually send him in the lions den by bowling him against the Indian lineup?

i heard him say that but i'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since it was discussed in english. maybe what he meant to say was "by the 40th over we felt we had put a lid on their acceleration somewhat compared to how they were batting earlier". he's captained well before so it's hard for me to believe he literally meant that he thought things were going exactly to plan by the 40th over. does anyone have any clips of him post-game in urdu?

 

[ahsan88]

Sarfraz might have just forgotten that Hafeez was a bowling option. Wouldn't be surprised considering how clueless he looked throughout the game.

 

[jeetu]

Why Hafeez played is a mystery to me also. His batting avg is less than 25 in Eng. No 100's (Highest 69). Bowling was poor too 40+ avg.

 

[IndYeah1]

Rashid Latif and Saqlain Mushtaq claimed that they see evidence of politics and positioning in the Pakistani players in the game - Something along the lines of when there are multiple power centers in the PCB, then young ones will also do the same that the elders are doing.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Probably doesnt want Hafeez in the side, just like most of PP dont! the sooner passengers like hafeez get dumped forever the better.

 

[MRSN]

If rumors in the media are to be believed, Sarfraz and Hafeez aren't getting along very well. Hafeez wanted to bowl and he even asked Sarfraz who turned him down. Even Mickey was shocked so clearly it was Sarfraz's own decision and rumors do have weight in it.

 

[MRSN]

Rashid Latif and Saqlain Mushtaq claimed that they see evidence of politics and positioning in the Pakistani players in the game - Something along the lines of when there are multiple power centers in the PCB, then young ones will also do the same that the elders are doing.

Sarfraz is definitely not going to stay for a long time if he doesn't learn to respect other players. Seems like he wants to run things like a dictator. There are certain people we we know very well that are feeding Sarfraz with political crap. He needs to get his head clean. He has to respect players doesn't matter who they are. Hafeez may be crap but he still doesn't deserve this treatment from a noob like Sarfraz. What exactly has Sarfraz himself done in his ODI career?

 

[MRSN]

Sarfraz might have just forgotten that Hafeez was a bowling option. Wouldn't be surprised considering how clueless he looked throughout the game.

If you are going to open the bowling with a spinner especially when Dhawan is there you got to bowl Hafeez who is extremely good against lefties. I think there should be a inquiry into this.There is more to it than pure incompetence of Sarfraz.

 

[Ultimate]

It wouldn't have mattered, as he is mediocre with his new action, would have been smashed more than Imad Wasim. I don't blame the bowlers and captain much, the main culprits were our fielders and batsmen.

 

[shravan]

sherjeel khan, khalid latif and shahzaib hassan are three of the best hard hitting batsmen for pakistan one day team, and so conveniently they have been embroiled in this betting approach scam.
why werent khalid and shahzaib selected in one days and t20 teams last year.

It's a bcci conspiracy. Surprising that not have have seen it this way.

 

[Major]

There were 2 drimls break and 2 rain stoppages.

So arthur had time to consult with captain on field.
I like how he has shifted the blame altogetger

 

[Sami92]

He should have bowled definitely. Big big big mistake.

 

[CricVet]

Sarfraz is passionate. Yes his captaincy was pathetic in the game against India but what lead to it is unknown. We shall see what he is made of in the next 2 games if no rain. If I were him, I would not hand the ball over to Hafeez and and keep exposing his fragile batting. The clown's free ride has to end one day.

 

[fawad_wellwisher]

Doesn't get to bowl against India but bowls his full quota of overs today. Go figure!

Looks like Coach confronted the captain why he did not throw the ball to Hafeez.