Srinagar: Former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has lashed out at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for disrespecting veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik by not giving him chance to go out on high.
Malik was not included in Pakistan T20 World Cup squad and was recently in news related to his tweet highlighting likes and dislikes culture in team.
“Malik gave his best to Pakistan for about 21-22 years and maintaining your fitness standards for that long is absolutely remarkable,” Mohammad Hafeez was quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Hafeez in the interview revealed that he had suggested Malik to announce retirement when former retired but Malik didn’t.
“When I took my retirement, I told Malik to take retirement as well because I knew that he will not be respected as it was also evident in my case. My understanding was that he wanted one last standing but cricket is cruel like this,” Hafeez revealed in the interview with Cricket Pakistan.
“Unfortunately, even when he had announced his retirement from ODI cricket, the farewell match was not given, realizing his services, the match should have been given. Our management has always been lacking when it comes to bidding them a farewell,” he maintained.
“If he had participated in the World Cup, the team would have got a senior player, don’t talk about that he cannot play cut or pull, don’t forget that he played cricket for 22 years so he didn’t play these shots?. We need to understand; we need proper cricketers with whom we can make winning combination whether he is 40 or 20,” he concluded.