Younis Khan: “Mohammad Hafeez has performed really well [recently], so we have a mature player in him”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan said veteran big-hitter Mohammad Hafeez is the mature and senior player the national team needs for this year’s T20 World Cup, which will be held in India.
Hafeez accumulated 140 runs in the three-match T20 series against New Zealand, which included a career-best score of 99 not out, at an average of 70 and a strike-rate of 160.91.
He also ended 2020 as the highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals with 415 runs in 10 games, which includes four fifties, at an average of 83 and a strike-rate of 152.57.
However, the 40-year-old won’t feature in the upcoming T20 series against South Africa since he didn’t return to Pakistan from the T10 League in Abu Dhabi in time to be part of the bio-secure bubble.
“Mohammad Hafeez has performed really well [recently], so we have a mature player in him, even though he is not playing the South Africa series, which is unlucky for us,” Younis was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The three-match T20 series between Pakistan and South Africa gets underway in Lahore on Thursday.