The team management was reluctant to hand over Test captaincy to Hafeez, claims a source – Cricket News Update
According to media reports, there are serious question marks about Mohammad Hafeez’s place in the national team after a run of poor performances in international cricket this year.
The right-handed opening batsman was appointed as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s T20 captain last month in place of Misbah ul Haq, who still leads the Green Shirts in the other two versions.
The cricketer from Sargodha made his way to international cricket in 2003 but never quite cemented his place until 2010, when he made a comeback to the national team during the limited-overs series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013. Since then, the opener has been a permanent
member of the Green Shirts in all formats of the game.
Hafeez however, has had a miserable time in international cricket in the current year as in the 14 ODIs he has played in 2012 so far, the right hander is averaging merely 26.50, which is not acceptable at the ultimate level of the sport for a top-order batsman.
On the condition of anonymity, a credible source from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed that the management was quite reluctant to hand over the captaincy to Hafeez for the Galle Test, as the regular skipper, Misbah was banned, but did so because
they ran out of options.
The source also added that the authorities are not happy with Hafeez’s recent performances, both as a player as well as a captain.
"When Misbah was banned for slow over-rate after the first Test there was some debate on whether Hafeez was in form to lead the side but since http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Younis-Khan-c98325 was also struggling with the bat eventually he got the job but failed to impress," a source claimed.
After another poor show in the Galle Test, the 31-year-old admitted that he is not having a good time with the bat but vowed to turn the tables in the remainder of the tour.
"I know my form is not good and I'm working hard at it. I'm sure that just spending time at the crease will give me more confidence," Hafeez expressed.
The second Test of the series is going to commence on Saturday at Colombo and the opening batsman will be looking to regain his touch.
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