Time running out for misfiring Hafeez

Senior batsman could lose his place in the ODI line-up if he fails to regain form

SOUTHAMPTON, England: After losing his place in the Test line-up earlier this month, Mohammad Hafeez is in clear and present danger of facing another axe ahead of Pakistan’s second One-day International (ODI) at Lord’s on Saturday.

Well-placed sources in the Pakistan team told ‘The News’ here on Wednesday that head coach Mickey Arthur is getting impatient with Hafeez’s batting form and isn’t in the mood to give the senior batsman too many chances unless he starts faring better.

Arthur, who replaced Waqar Younis as Pakistan’s head coach just ahead of the ongoing tour, was the one who made the call to replace the misfiring Hafeez with Iftikhar Ahmed in the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval earlier this month. The decision came after Hafeez flopped in the first three Tests, scoring 40, 0, 81, 42, 0 and 2 in his six outings in the Test series.

According to the sources, time is running out for Hafeez in the 50-over format as well after he fell for a 15-ball 11 in the first One-day International against England here at The Ageas Bowl on Wednesday afternoon. A miscued sweep shot was once again why Hafeez fell after settling in as he top edged part-time spinner Joe Root and was caught at deep square leg by Alex Hales.

Having played 176 ODIs, the 35-year-old Hafeez is the senior most member of Pakistan’s youthful one-day squad and therefore much is expected of him.

“Arthur is expecting more from Hafeez since he is a senior player,” a source said. “The coach isn’t happy with the way he has been dismissed during the tour of England and is fast losing his patience,” he added.

According to a source close to Hafeez, the former Pakistan Twenty20 captain is clueless about his lean patch with the bat.

“Hafeez has been talking to senior team-mates and coaches about his loss of form. He thinks he is middling the ball from the very start but the problem arises when he fails to convert his starts. It’s a mental thing and Hafeez is of the view that one big score will help him get out of the current patch.”

But that one big score should come sooner rather than later.

Hafeez has been, in the past, a key member of the Pakistan line-ups in the two limited-over formats primarily because of his all-round skills. But he last bowled in an ODI – against Sri Lanka at Pallekele – back on July 15, 2015 and has since been playing as a specialist top-order batsman because of an ICC suspension over an illegal bowling action.

“Hafeez’s utility has gone down because of his inability to bowl which is why his performance with the bat should improve. Or he should get his bowling action cleared as soon as possible,” said a source.

There is added pressure on Hafeez considering that promising players like Mohammad Rizwan are waiting on the bench.

But if Hafeez is in any hurry to get an ICC clearance over his bowling action then he is hiding it well.

He is eligible to take a retest on his bowling action after completing 12 months of suspension but Hafeez is yet to seriously work on remodelling his action.

“Hafeez wants to carry out serious remedial work on his bowling action but a non-stop international action means that he can’t do that at the moment,” a source said.

In an interview earlier this month, Hafeez said that he was focussing more on regaining his fitness and cementing his place in the playing eleven as a specialist batsman.

“To be honest, I haven’t been thinking too much about it. This is because for the past three-and-a-half-months, no serious remedial work has been possible on my action, which is necessary for successfully clearing the test. Obviously in that period, it was more important for me to concentrate on ensuring that I regained my fitness after injury to allow me to play as a batsman for the Pakistan team,” he said in an interview during the four-Test series against England.

Since then Hafeez does bowl in the nets but such an exercise remains few and far between.

“He will get a 15-20 day window after the conclusion of this tour,” a source said. “Pakistan will begin their home series against West Indies in the last week of September after finishing the current one on the 7th. So there will be some time for him to work on his bowling action,” he said.

Whether the under-pressure Hafeez manages to avoid Arthur’s axe till then, remains to be seen.