Former Pakistan cricketer and Director of Cricket Mohammad Hafeez lashed out at the team for their alleged lackadaisical attitude towards the game during his tenure, claiming that four to five players were sleeping inside the room during a Test match against Australia.
Hafeez was appointed as the Director of Cricket after the team’s poor performance at the 50-overs Cricket World Cup held in India last year, in which they finished fifth with just four wins in nine matches, with Mickey Arthur being the Director. However, Hafeez’s tenure was not much better either as Australia beat Pakistan 3-0 in a Test series Down Under and New Zealand also defeated Pakistan by 4-1 in the T20I series following the series against Australia.
Speaking on the Club Prairie Fire Podcast hosted by legendary cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan, Hafeez said, “I went into the dressing room and found four-five players are sleeping in the dressing room while playing Test cricket. I was like, ‘How come you guys can do that?’ If you do something like this, you cannot be a part of this team. I want you guys to stay focused during the game and off the game, whatever you guys do, it is your own life, I never get involved in it. But in professional timings of the game, I want you guys to focus on the game.”
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The 43-year-old said that the media in the country did not allow his disciplinarian attitude towards the team, saying, “You tell me Gilly (Gilchrist), if a player is sleeping in the dressing room and we are playing Test cricket. 4-5 players are sleeping in the dressing room, should I allow that as a team director? You cannot switch yourself off during the game, but unfortunately, the media did not like it.”
Pakistan bowed out of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup being held in West Indies and USA. Though they managed to win their remaining two games against Canada and Ireland, it was not enough as they had lost matches to the USA and arch-rivals India, which appeared winnable for the most part. Pakistan ended the group stage with two wins and two losses and a total of four points to finish in third place in Group A.