LAHORE: Experienced all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has talked up his own bowling prowess, telling that his off-breaks were so lethal against left-handers that even the great Brian Lara admitted to having a difficulty facing him.
Hafeez, 39, throughout his career, was largely seen as a batting all-rounder who could bowl part-time in the middle overs. However, in his own evaluation, he believes his bowling was much better than others thought and that part of his game does not get the credit it deserves.
“Left-handers have always had difficulty facing me. However, I have bowled well to right-handers as well. If you look at my economy rate, it’s the same against both. I dismissed one of my favourite batsmen, Brian Lara, as well,” he said in Geo News programme Score.
“He [Lara] also admitted that he had difficulty batting against me. He was a world class batsman and there are very few batsmen who played spinners as well as Lara.”“In my career, my bowling has supported me a lot. If I was not able to perform with the bat in some match, I used to make up for it with my bowling. I would like to continue my success against left-handers, which is a God-gifted talent, till I am playing cricket,” Hafeez added.
Hafeez, nearly a quadragenarian, reiterated his desire to bow out from international cricket after the next T20 World Cup, whenever it may be.“I want to retire from international cricket after playing the next T20 World Cup. I hope I am able to end my career with grace and respect. I am keeping myself fit and my performances have been up to the mark in recent years. So If I am fulfilling all requirements of representing the national side, then I am available for selection, even if the event is shifted to next year,” he said.