Wrong to blame any individual for Pakistan’s poor show, says Hafeez

LONDON (Monitoring Desk): Senior all-rounder and former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has said the last few days have been very painful for him and his team as the national side has come under severe criticism following their poor show in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Hafeez told media at Lord’s following Pakistan team’s practice session on Thursday that everyone—from the players to the management—was responsible for the team’s performance so far and that any single individual could not be blamed.

“We failed collectively as a team. We could not produce a team effort and individual brilliance did not help us either. In cricket these days, you need team performance…input from everyone,” Hafeez highlighted. “We can’t blame 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 bounce back as the break after the game against India had given the team a chance to regroup ahead of their match against South Africa. “All is not finished for 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 players following the team’s defeats. “Commenting on cricket is another thing, but to drag players’ families and attacking them is not a good thing,” he expressed.

Replying to a question, Hafeez said opting to bowl after winning the toss against India was the team’s collective decision. “Team’s decision can’t be made on what someone has tweeted. It was team’s decision. We didn’t bowl well and that’s why we lost that game,” Hafeez said.

He also denied rumours of grouping in the team, saying that such speculation takes place every time the team loses and that there was no truth in such stories. “Why don’t you talk about such things when the team is winning,” asked Hafeez.