Mohammad Hafeez made his ODI debut in 2003 and has since
featured in 140 matches with a career batting average of 30.95 and a career
bowling average of 35.5. Prior to the ongoing series against SL his average was
a formidable 28. In the ongoing bilateral ODI series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka,
in which Pakistan has already attained an unassailable lead of 3-1, Mohammad
Hafeez has produced the best performance of his career. It has to be said that
it’s not an easy feat to notch up three centuries in a series and credit should
be given for this effort. With that said, however, we also need to not overblow
it and count him among the best Pakistan has produced, as these scores came on
placid wickets and against a depleted Sri Lanka bowling attack.
In the past 10 years of his international career, Hafeez has
seldom seen the kind of the “up” he’s been experiencing in the year 2013 as he’s
among the top scorers in a single calendar year. On paper it looks very
promising, however, if we start digging more into his career stats the record
looks bleaker and dingier. For example in all of his 10+ season in the international
arena, his other great performance came in 2011 where he averaged a whopping
56.33 in 10 matches (in 2013 his avg. is 52.25). But those matches were spread
as follows; 2 against Ireland, 5 against West Indies and 3 against Zimbabwe.
From 2011 to 2012, Hafeez has one or two innings of any note but then came 2013
when Pakistan met the mighty Zimbabwe and Ireland in the same year again, and
believe it or not Hafeez’s batting average went haywire again. Although his
recent performance didn’t come against the above mentioned teams but looking at
the present SL attack one can easily see why that is the case. This year so far
Pakistan has played India, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West
Indies and Zimbabwe. Hafeez’s avg. against each team is as follows:
Vs. India = 27
Vs. Ireland = 124
Vs. Scotland = 18
Vs South Africa = 16
Vs. Sri Lanka = 203.5
Vs West Indies = 18.16
Vs Zimbabwe = 232
In conclusion, Hafeez may be an experienced
player whose recent performances cannot be ignored, is it sign for better
things to come? Let’s hope so, however I highly doubt that. Hafeez as we know
and seen him, is not the kind of a player who can be persisted with in the team
at the cost of some other young talent who has a far superior technique and
stats and who can carry the team forward. We know that this performance has cemented
his place till at least the next world cup. This is unfortunate, because the
tournament is going to be held in Australia where Hafeez’s weakness outside off
stump will be overly exposed and he will most probably become a liability on
the team. Some may say he’s in the team for his bowling but a career bowling average
of 35.5 is hardly an excuse for his consistent place in the team. So let’s give
him credit for a fabulous performance against SL, but please let’s not go
overboard with it.