Arthur apologises to Hafeez for dropping him from team

DUBAI: Pakistan team is going through a tough phase in the One-day International format at the moment. They won only a couple of matches that too against low ranked teams like Hong Kong and Afghanistan while losing twice against India and then going down against Bangladesh in a must-win encounter.

They had arrived into the tournament without their veteran Mohammad Hafeez who was dropped and there was a lot of controversy around the decision. The Men in Green were in dire need of an experienced player like him and duly, Hafeez, who contemplated retirement after being axed, returned to the side across all the formats.

He answered straightaway to all his critics including the coach Mickey Arthur, who had insisted on dropping him, in the very first game with a brilliant century. He also scored more than 30 runs in the following six T20s against Australia and New Zealand then only to fail in the first ODI against the Kiwis in Abu Dhabi but surely, Hafeez has returned with a bang and is once again in the plans for the World Cup next year in England.

According to the reports in Daily Express, Mickey Arthur has apologised to Hafeez for his wrong attitude towards the cricketer. He has also given an assurance to him that this will never happen in his case now. “I admit that I was wrong about you, so I apologize and assure you this will not happen again. You are still very useful for the team,” he said.

These words should come as a confidence booster for Hafeez and will be keen to play an important role in Pakistan’s upcoming assignments. After the ODI series, Sarfraz Ahmed and his troops will be locking horns against the New Zealand in the three-match Test series which is scheduled to commence on November 16 in Abu Dhabi.