Mohammad Hafeez will have to perform to retain the captaincy, says Zaheer ... - bettor.com (blog)

Mohammad Hafeez will have to perform to retain the captaincy, says Zaheer Abbas – Cricket News Update

Former Pakistan captain, Zaheer Abbas, has backed Mohammad Hafeez, as the captain in the shortest format of the game and feels that Misbah ul Haq was under immense pressure because he was taking care of the Green Shirts in all the three formats of the game.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced three different squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and made some notable changes in the national team. There has been a lot of criticism on Misbah since last six months because of his age and as a result, PCB has appointed Hafeez as the captain in T20 cricket.

Zaheer, who is known as the ‘Asian Bradman’, thinks that Misbah will be feeling relieved as his responsibilities have been shared with the opening batsman now.

While speaking to Pakpassion, the former top-order batsman said that Hafeez is a mature cricketer and he will do a good job for the country.

He said, “It’s a good decision by the board – Misbah was captain for all formats which is a bit of a hassle for any captain as its puts too much pressure on one person.”

Considering the fact that the ICC World T20 is just round the corner, it is a massive step taken by the board. Pakistan is the only team in the world which qualified for the semi-finals in all the three World Cups played so far. Therefore, Hafeez will be under a lot of pressure to deliver the goods.  

Zaheer further added that there are not many options for Pakistan at the moment as Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi are at the twilight of their careers and Shoaib Malik has been out of form with the bat in recent times. This is the reason why PCB was not left with any choice but Hafeez. However, former captain is of the opinion that the all-rounder will have to perform in order to retain his leadership.

“He, really, is the only choice and the reason is very simple as he is scoring runs and taking wickets for the team and this consistency has been rewarded. His future elevation to captain from vice captain will be based on his performance in those types of formats but If he performs well then obviously that will be the right choice,” the legendary batsman added.

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