Mohammad Hafeez blamed 90s Pakistani players of not winning ICC titles and inspiring youngsters.
Legendary Pakistani pacer Waqar Younis has responded to ex-all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez questioning the legacy of the players from the 90s. Hafeez said despite the fact that their team included "megastars" in the 1990s, their failure to win an ICC title did not inspire supporters or the next generation.
Following a spectacular title win in the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan exited the 1996 World Cup in the quarterfinals before reaching the final of the next edition in 1999, where they were defeated by Australia in a one-sided contest.
“Players who win ICC tournaments, inspire the next generation. I am a big fan of players from the 1990s, but when it comes to legacy, they left nothing for Pakistan. They didn’t win an ICC event—1996 (ODI World Cup), 1999 (ODI World Cup), and 2003 (ODI World Cup)—they lost badly. We could’ve won one final (1999 World Cup) but lost badly.
As stars, as players, they were mega superstars, but they couldn’t inspire us by winning the ICC event. Then things changed; we faced a little difficult period. In 2007, we lost the final (T20 World Cup). Then in 2009 we won under Younis Khan’s captaincy, and so there was some inspiration,” said Hafeez on Outside EDGE.
Hafeez claims winning the 2009 World T20 and the Champions Trophy in 2017 inspired him, before pointing out that the "mega superstars" of the 1990s did not win any ICC tournaments.
“Unfortunately, it was followed by a terrible incident with Pakistan cricket from which we are still not able to recover. Then in 2017, we won an ICC trophy (Champions Trophy), which was a big inspiration. People idealize Babar Azam today because even though he didn’t make any big impact then, he was part of it. Unfortunately, players of the 90s couldn’t win any ICC event with due respect to their talent; they were mega superstars," he said.
Shoaib, who represented Pakistan from 1997 to 2011, also took part in the conversation, pointing out that his generation's players are responsible for Pakistan's superior head-to-head record in ODIs versus India.
“He’s (Hafeez) involved us all in this. Of these 73 one-dayers that Pakistan has won against India, it is us who won it," he said.
Pakistan's dangerous pace attack in the late 1990s included Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar. Waqar posted a strange message on X, citing the combined stats of himself and Wasim Akram from their international careers. He tagged Wasim Akram and wrote 'Not Bad'.