Mohammad Hafeez reveals legendary Brian Lara found his bowling difficult to face

Hafeez has troubled quite a few left-handers with his off-spin over the years.

By Salman Anjum - 26 May, 2020

Before he was suspended for illegal bowling action in international cricket, veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was a handy spinner, who often used to complete his quota of overs in the limited-overs formats.

In particular, Hafeez was effective against the left-handers including the legendary West Indian southpaw Brian Lara.

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Speaking to Geo News, Hafeez on Monday (May 25) revealed that Lara himself admitted having difficulty while facing his off-spin.

"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,” Hafeez said.

“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,” the 39-year-old added.

Having made his international debut in 2003, Mohammad Hafeez has represented Pakistan in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs and 91 T20Is so far. While he has claimed 53 wickets in the longest format, he has picked up 139 and 54 scalps in the ODIs and T20Is respectively.

Hafeez, who isn’t a regular feature in the national side after the 2019 World Cup, also expressed his desire to play T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.

“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.

By Salman Anjum - 26 May, 2020

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