LAHORE: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said he believes that the Cricket World Cup fixture between hosts England and India was not played within the spirit of the game.
“It did not feel as if the two sides were playing to win,” he said in a press conference.
Hosts England had posted a mammoth 337-7 but India never really put their foot on the pedal and finished 31 runs short at 306-5 despite still having five wickets in hand.
Victory for India would have meant that their arch-rivals Pakistan would have qualified for the next round instead.
However, Hafeez admitted that Pakistan were eliminated from the tournament due to their own mistakes and cannot blame others for not bailing them out.
The all-rounder believes players should be happy that cricket is returning in some shape or form and said that players have to make sacrifices throughout their careers.
“Life is full of challenges and individuals face them throughout their lives,” said Hafeez. “We have seen that everything in the world has changed in the past couple of months and I pray that everyone stay safe and beat this pandemic. We have to be ready to adapt to the changes. Personally, the return of the sport is making me happy and I want to focus on that instead of criticising every small thing.”
Speaking on his international retirement, Hafeez went on to say that he had decided that he would bid farewell to his career on a winning note at a big stage. “It is not like that I won’t play if the T20 World Cup is delayed from October to November.”
Hafeez added that he never compromised on his fitness. “I will keep myself fit to stay available for the tournament,” he promised.
