Will show people what I am capable of as a batsman: Mohammad Hafeez

Experienced Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has been out of sorts in the ongoing Test series against England with a below par batting average of 17. His position in the playing eleven is under threat, after managing to score just 102 runs from the 3 Test matches so far.

However, speaking in an interview with PakPassion.net, Hafeez said that he will show people what he is capable of if he gets the opportunity to play in The Oval Test match. “I may have missed a couple of chances to play a big innings but I am not disappointed as I know this is how it goes sometimes in cricket. I am confident that I am playing well and God Willing I will be able to convert these starts to big scores in the near future. All cricketers go through lean patches but hopefully, if selected, at the Oval, I will show people what I am capable of as a batsman,” he said.

When asked about the Asian batsmen struggling in overseas conditions, he said that it is not just the Asian batsmen, as even the Australian and England cricketers struggle to cope up with the sub-continent conditions. “To be honest, this is the same issue for all players because if you learn and play your cricket in one set of conditions and then are asked to play in another country then you will find it tough. It’s not just the Asian batsmen but even English players and some of the top Australian stars also find it tough when they go to Asia. So this is not an Asian problem alone.”

Re-test on bowling action:

Talking about the re-test on his bowling action, Hafeez said, “To be honest, I haven’t been paying too much attention to this topic. This is because for the past three and a half months, no serious remedial work has been possible in my action which is necessary for successfully clearing the test. Obviously, in that period, it was more important for me to concentrate on ensuring that I regained my fitness after an injury to allow me to play as a batsman for the Pakistan team.”

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“I was able to play matches in England but during this time I continued to concentrate on rehab work for getting my fitness in order. This affected my preparations for the re-test as I could not continue the remedial work on my action with the same intensity as before. I did start to bowl again in the nets once my fitness had been restored and during this time, I also happened to come across Carl Crowe who had helped West Indies spinner Sunil Narine in the past as well,” he said.

However, he is confident that he will pass the re-test once he is given the opportunity. “If you recall, I worked very hard to clear tests before as well but I was banned again. I am not sure what happened at that time but that, I suppose, is another story. However, this time, around, I will make doubly sure that I prepare well and am cleared for good,” he opinioned.

Mickey Arthur is a hard-working professional:

When asked to compare current coach Mickey Arthur and previous head coach Waqar Younis, he said that it’s hard to compare as both wanted to do well at the highest level and they also have a different route to success and different styles of management.

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“Mickey has very clear ideas of how he wishes to manage his players and a very clear mindset as well. From what we have seen so far, he is a hard-working professional but at the same time, he is easy going as well. One hopes that things will continue in this positive manner as it is always good to have someone with so much experience, especially when that experience includes games against us as well as he was coach of South Africa and Australia. So far things are working out well and I hope it continues that way in the future.”

Mohammad Amir is like a brother to me:

When queried about his objection against the inclusion of Mohammad Amir in the Pakistan team earlier this year, he said “I believe that there was some confusion about the whole issue. Let me make it clear that what I expressed then was what can only be described as a principled stance, not taken against the individual, but rather against his actions. If anyone indulges in such activity, I will be the first one to raise my hand up and question their inclusion. Now since it came down to ensuring that the interest of Pakistan is served well, and if everyone accepted Amir back in the fold then I had no objections.”

“Amir is like a brother to me as is every other person who plays for Pakistan and he will have my support for that reason. Anyhow, all that is now history but my principled stance on this issue remains the same and will never change. Also, I am not the policy maker which is really the domain of the Pakistan Cricket Board and we have to support and respect every player who is playing for Pakistan,” he added.

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Speaking about reconsidering captaincy, he said that it is not something he is worried about as his intention is to support the captain of whichever team he is asked to play in, instead of worrying about captaincy. “Thankfully, in my tenure as captain, the team was very settled and united. Now the PCB has announced captains for each format and the issue is settled,” he concluded.