PSL Team:
|
Peshawar Zalmis
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Category:
|
Diamond
|
Country:
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Pakistan
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Born
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Oct 17, 1980
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Playing Role:
|
Batsman
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Batting Style:
|
Right Hand
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Bowling Style:
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Spinner
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Profile
An opening batsman and handy offspin bowler,
Mohammad Hafeez first played for Pakistan in 2003, but it was only in
2011 that he finally became a regular in the side in all formats.
As a player, Hafeez gives the team plenty of
options: he usually bats aggressively at the top of the order, but his
organised technique also means he can switch to defensive mode if
required. He doesn't flight his offbreaks much, but his excellent
control over line and length allows the captain to use him at almost any
stage of an innings. He is also one of the better fielders in the
Pakistan team, especially in the point region.
Despite these skills, Hafeez failed to create a
regular place for himself in the Pakistan in his first seven years in
international cricket, primarily due to his inability to convert his
starts into substantial scores. He scored plenty of pretty 30s and 40s,
laced with some exquisite cover-drives, but that only helped cement the
opinion that Hafeez may forever remain a player whose potential exceeds
performance.
To a large extent, that changed in 2011, as Hafeez
put in consistent displays with both bat and ball in all forms of the
game. It actually started in the series against South Africa in November
2010, and then continued through 2011, a year which fetched him two
centuries in Tests and three in ODIs, apart from two fifties in Twenty20
internationals. He won an incredible ten Man-of-the-Match awards in
international cricket that year, and became only the third cricketer -
after Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis - to score 1000-plus runs and
take 30 or more wickets in ODIs in a calendar year. With Taufeeq Umar,
he formed Pakistan's most stable opening combination in Tests, as his
aggression at the top of the order became a perfect counterfoil to
Taufeeq's defensive approach.