Mohammad Hafeez

Good man

Pakistan's senior batsman Mohammad Hafeez has turned down a lucrative offer from Chittagong Vikings to play in the Bangladesh Premier League since the franchise had also signed tainted young pacer Mohammad Amir. (Pakistan Players Resist Comeback of Tainted Mohammad Amir)

"It is not about individuals or any personality clash. It is about the image of Pakistan cricket. I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country," Hafeez told the 'Jang' newspaper in Dubai. (Mohammad Amir Called Thief in Domestic Match)

The newspaper reported that Hafeez had got a lucrative offer to play for Chittagong Vikings in the third edition of the BPL but he turned it down because Amir was in their side. (Mohammad Amir Apologises as Fixing Ban Expires)

Hafeez apparently turned down an offer of around 10 million Pakistani rupees as the franchise had already signed on Amir.
Hafeez has also made his feelings about the three tainted players in the spot fixing scandal - Amir, Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif - clear in the past.

On one occasion when the Pakistan team was practicing at the national cricket academy in Lahore, its former bowling coach Mohammad Akram invited Amir to bowl to Hafeez in the nets. But Hafeez flatly refused to face the left-armer because of his tainted past.

Hafeez is also said to be among a group of players in the Pakistan team who are strongly opposed to allowing the tainted trio to play for the national team again in any format.

The BPL has attracted around 16 top players from Pakistan and most of these players will go directly from Dubai after the T20 series against England to Dhaka.

The top players include Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah etc.

link

Also, when did Vikings become skinny brown people from Chittagong?

It might also be that he realises that there is a good chance of not getting paid.

It flouts the purely fabricated general consensus that everyone within the Pakistan side condoned what they did.

As a fan of cricket I'm torn, obviously didn't like seeing the game brought in to disrepute, however I farking loved watching him bowl and he was very young at the time. I made a fair few questionable decisions when I was 18 too...

vilkrang wrote:As a fan of cricket I'm torn, obviously didn't like seeing the game brought in to disrepute, however I farking loved watching him bowl and he was very young at the time. I made a fair few questionable decisions when I was 18 too...

Yeah, I made some crazy arsed decisions when I was that age.... I wouldn't have made the decision he did though.

It is a shame - imagine the bowler he'd be now had he not done what he did.

He could be honourable, or he could be a guilty man over-compensating due to guilt over what he has done.

Some of the run outs he's involved in (and he's involved in a lot) look a bit dodgy.......*





*(Although he could just be an awful runner between the wickets)

I wonder if he got a better offer not to play.

Henry wrote:He could be honourable, or he could be a guilty man over-compensating due to guilt over what he has done.

Some of the run outs he's involved in (and he's involved in a lot) look a bit dodgy.......*





*(Although he could just be an awful runner between the wickets)

Big Dog wrote:I wonder if he got a better offer not to play.  

What a load of bullshit. Tossers be a-tossing, so it seems.

Brass Monkey wrote:

Henry wrote:He could be honourable, or he could be a guilty man over-compensating due to guilt over what he has done.

Some of the run outs he's involved in (and he's involved in a lot) look a bit dodgy.......*





*(Although he could just be an awful runner between the wickets)

Big Dog wrote:I wonder if he got a better offer not to play.  

What a load of bullshit. Tossers be a-tossing, so it seems.

Sorry...I couldn't find a tongue in cheek emoticon

Yeah thought that, when I reread. Was too late for an edit and thought to myself 'I miss Merlin - I need a new one'. Guess who I chose???

But Trev's post was soooo Trev. I stand by that point.

Principled stand or simple grandstanding?

Seeing as he's been in and around the Pakistan team for a long time I guess he's played with a few wrong 'uns before - either he didn't know they were bad at the time or he chose to ignore it (perhaps due to him looking to forge a career or just from being young and scared - hmm, perhaps kind of how Amir felt when Butt, Asif and co presumably co-opted him).

Additionally, I guess his moral code doesn't extend to having any qualms about playing alongside one of the biggest chuckers of a cricket ball there's ever been. And how about the legitimacy of his own action...

He may just have an issue playing with cheats that have been caught.

The shame.

I suspect my cynical comment is very unfair.

Brass Monkey wrote:Yeah thought that, when I reread. Was too late for an edit and thought to myself 'I miss Merlin - I need a new one'. Guess who I chose???  

But Trev's post was soooo Trev. I stand by that point.

Well someone has to provide a different flavour apart from vanilla. This forum is all about wild speculation and conspiracy theories. Get with it.

I suppose you thought butter wouldn't melt in Hansie's mouth, either......

Henry wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:Yeah thought that, when I reread. Was too late for an edit and thought to myself 'I miss Merlin - I need a new one'. Guess who I chose???  

But Trev's post was soooo Trev. I stand by that point.

Well someone has to provide a different flavour apart from vanilla. This forum is all about wild speculation and conspiracy theories. Get with it.

I suppose you thought butter wouldn't melt in Hansie's mouth, either......

I didn't say to not go for gold - I'm the same with bucky.

I thought Hansie provided a thoroughly entertaining match for us all.

Pakistan's ODI captain Azhar Ali and veteran allrounder Mohammad Hafeez have chosen to stay away from the ongoing conditioning camp in Lahore, apparently due to Mohammad Amir's inclusion among the probables for the camp. Azhar confirmed that he had stayed away because of Amir and Pakistan's team manager, Agha Akbar, said Hafeez's absence was also apparently for the same reason.

Amir, who is in the selection mix after serving a five-year ban for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, was one of the 26 probables named for the pre-season conditioning camp in the build-up to the New Zealand tour. Both Hafeez and Azhar were playing domestic matches in Karachi and had missed the first three days of the camp which began on December 21. They were scheduled to join the camp on Thursday, but Agha Akbar confirmed that the pair did not train with the side.

"Both are not joining the training camp today apparently because of Mohammad Amir," Akbar told ESPNcricinfo.

Azhar was more direct. "I will not attend the camp as long as Amir is there," he said. "This is my decision and we are open to discuss with the PCB. I don't want to comment on Hafeez's decision, but we both have the same stance.'"

In November, Hafeez had reportedly turned down an offer in the Bangladesh Premier League from the Chittagong Vikings franchise, who had enlisted Amir. Hafeez told ESPNcricinfo that he could not play "with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country", but was open to accepting an offer from a different franchise. He stressed that this was his personal opinion.

In November 2011, Amir - along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - was sentenced in a London Court on charges conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat at gambling after a plot was uncovered in a News of the World sting operation to bowl deliberate no-balls in a Test against England in 2010. Amir was given a six-month jail sentence and served half of it at the Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset

He was also given a five-year ban by the ICC, and his suspension period formally ended on September 1 this year. Amir had been allowed to return to cricket ahead of schedule by the ICC in January and has since featured in Pakistan's domestic T20 and first-class competitions. He was also a part of the BPL 2015-16, playing nine matches for the Chittagong Vikings franchise.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/954865.html

Interesting developments tricycle.

With Azhar joining the anti-Amir club it's going to place a big strain on the PCB and how trhey handle it. If Amir proves he's still got the goods then I reckon they might've lived with Hafeez's stance, presuming that he's at the back end of his career and they could get by without him. Azhar seems like a different kettle of fish - the biggest star bat they have (captain elect too when Misbah goes?) and the mainstay for the next 5+ years? Tricky position.

Well, Pakistan cricket has been going along serenely for far too long now and getting into decent shape - it's about time for another crisis to evolve and destroy any chance of them becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Shame. I hope they resolve it well - but it has the feel of a tinderbox about to explode.

As I've said previously I'd like him to have a second chance, and with him bowling as well as he did when he was younger they would have a serious shot at becoming one of it not the best side in the world.

But as per usual, the politics will f*ck 'em.

Aye. Seems to be a little volcanic. I too thought the young fellow deserved a second chance, but I also value the line in the sand stance taken by these players.

My own opinion is Aamir can f*ck off from the world of cricket and that his crime and punishment were very disproportionate.

So, I like that Ali and Hafeez are doing this.

tricycle wrote:My own opinion is Aamir can f*ck off from the world of cricket and that his crime and punishment were very disproportionate.

So, I like that Ali and Hafeez are doing this.

Word.

Azhar Ali has said he and Mohammad Amir had "moved on" from the complications that beset Amir's reintegration to the Pakistan team, in the approach to the New Zealand tour. He said he would focus on captaining Amir, and helping create an environment in which the bowler could thrive.

The first ODI on Monday will be the first occasion in which the two will play together, since Amir's return to international cricket. "He bowled well in the T20s I think," Azhar said. "As the captain my job is to take the best out of him. Hopefully we will all be united and with Mohammad Amir, and we will allow him to bowl really well and get wickets for Pakistan."

Four weeks ago, Azhar had been among two players who sought to avoid a pre-tour conditioning camp, stating: "I will not attend the camp as long as Amir is there." He had also attempted to resign the ODI captaincy over Amir's inclusion, before the Pakistan Cricket Board intervened. He struck a more philosophical tone in Wellington.

"Whatever my stance was, my job is to lead this side and keep harmony in the dressing room," he said. "We are all united and keen for this challenge.

He did not want to be drawn on what has allowed his position to change since December. "We should not discuss more about it. We've moved on."

Buried the hatchet... my arse. The PCB continue to look like arseholes.

Reckon they gave him a hush bonus

Possibly with a "hand in your papers if you don't comply" clause.

Public pronouncements of unity quite often indicate the exact reverse of how it is on the inside. England are masters at this kind of PR bullshit.

So don't be surprised if it all kicks off at some point soon.

For the record, I think Amir has served his time and should therefore be allowed to return. I think I've stated my position on this before but I think he was a naive kid and was co-opted by Butt and Asif. He's not blameless for sure - but those guys are far more sinister than Amir for me. As long as he is continually monitored (in terms of someone forensically watching his income) then we should be able to trust that he is playing the game cleanly and we can benefit from seeing this rare talent on the stage it deserves to be on.