PSL 2023: Mohammad Hafeez gets surprise call-up from Quetta Gladiators; replaces Ahsan Ali

Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has earned a surprise call-up for the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL 2023). He will be featuring in the league at the age of 42. Hafeez is making a return to PSL as he signed with the Quetta Gladiators as a replacement for Ahsan Ali, who has been ruled out from the tournament due to a knee injury. Hafeez last played for Lahore Qalandars in the 2022 season. 

The Punjab-born cricketer first played for the Peshawar Zalmi in the inaugural edition of the PSL. After completing three seasons, he left Zalmi in 2018. He was then picked by the defending champions Lahore Qalandars and was also given the captaincy. He played a vital role in Lahore Qalandars’ PSL title last year. The 42-year-old cricketer scored 69 runs from 46 balls and picked 2 wickets for 23 in the final as the Qalandars beat the Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Hafeez also played in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), as he was signed by Dhaka Dynamites for the remainder of the 2015 edition. In 2018, he joined another BPL team, Rajshahi Kings for the sixth edition of the tournament. The all-rounder featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. He signed for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural season of the T20 tournament. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play in the second season due to security concerns after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The Pak cricketer retired from Test cricket in December 2018. Pakistan did not give chances to him in ODIs after the 2019 World Cup. However, he had a remarkable run in T20 cricket after returning to the T20I side in 2020. He also finished the year as the leading run-scorer in the shortest format of the game.

Initially he announced that the 2020 T20 World Cup would be his final assignment for the national side. However, the tournament was rescheduled and conducted in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, he did not call time on his international career until January last year.

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