PAK vs SA: Mohammad Hafeez to join elite club of cricketers who have played 100 T20Is

PRETORIA: Former captain Mohammad Hafeez, who is enjoying a purple patch late in his career, will become the second Pakistani cricketer to play 100 T20Is for his national side on Saturday when the men in green will take on South Africa, announced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday.

"Mohammad Hafeez will become the second Pakistan player and sixth overall to feature in 100 T20Is when he takes the field against South Africa in first of the four men’s Twenty20 Internationals at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday," said the PCB in a press release.

The 40-year-old will join the company of Shoaib Malik, Rohit Sharma, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan and Ross Taylor. All the players have played more than 100 T20Is for their national team.

Interestingly, Hafeez was also among the select few players who were part of the team when Pakistan played its inaugural T20I match in August 2006 in Bristol.

The right-handed batsman will play his 100th T20I match at the same venue where he played his 50th match of the shortest format of the game.

Apart from the 100th T20I, the stylish batsman will be hoping to add another accolade to his name. 

If he scores 13 runs in the game then he will overtake Shoaib Malik as Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in T20Is.

"Shoaib has to date scored 2,335 runs in 116 T20Is, while Hafeez is sixth on the list with 2,323 runs in 99 matches," said the PCB.