Nicknamed as ‘the professor’, Mohammad Hafeez is an all-rounder who plays for Pakistan and made his international debut way back in 2003. Hafeez is a right-handed explosive batsman and a right-arm off break bowler who is predominantly known for his street smart strategies and unorthodox thinking. Hafeez took his time initially to settle into international cricket, but by 2010, he was part of Pakistan team across all three formats. An explosive opener, Hafeez was brought into the squad after Pakistan’s exit from the 2003 World Cup, where the team performed poorly. He had a dream start to his international career, scoring his maiden ton against Bangladesh in his second Test match. However, the honeymoon period was over quickly as he was out of the Test setup for the next 3 years. Strong performances in the domestic circuit brought him back to the Pakistan Test squad in 2006. Hafeez’s biggest concern had been the inability to convert good starts into a mammoth score, and that was the reason why he got dropped again in 2007. It wasn’t until 2010 that he cemented his place across all the three formats of the game. Post 2010, his average in Test cricket increased and he formed a stable opening partnership alongside Taufeeq Umar. The duo complemented each other well as Hafeez was more of an aggressive player, while Umar had a defensive approach to his game. 2011 was a special year for Hafeez as he grabbed an incredible ten Man of the Match awards in ODI cricket and became only the third cricketer after Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis - to score 1000 plus runs and take 30 or more wickets in an ODI calendar year. Against India in 2012, Hafeez slammed 105 and shared a 224 opening run stand alongside Nasir Jamshed, which is the best opening partnership for Pakistan against India in ODI cricket. Following some staggering performances, Hafeez was appointed the new T20 skipper for Pakistan and was named the deputy to Misbah-ul-Haq in ODIs.
