All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez once again makes the rounds in the cricket circle after he openly announced plans to bypass cricket authorities and take up the matter with Prime Minister Imran Khan. In his recent interview with Samaa, he slammed Pakistan Cricket Board for ending departmental cricket. He questioned the benefit of the new domestic season and spoke in favor of the abolished departmental cricket.
“I tried to meet the PM because I believe someone has to meet him, inform him about the difficulties our colleagues in the domestic circuit are facing because of this new structure,” he said.“The real problem is that within departments, there are teams for every sport except cricket and because of that, up to 900 players and 300 supporting staff members are now unemployed.”
Hafeez aka Professor said that his conscience did not let him accept the domestic deal last year as he continued to pinpoint holes in the new system.“Unemployment in the cricketing fraternity has increased significantly because of the new domestic structure. It is my opinion that we cannot accommodate deserving cricketers in just six regional teams. I don’t understand how a cricketer can manage the financial needs of his family from the time he starts playing at the club level until the time he will represent Pakistan,” he said.
Hafeez also explained how the old system had helped cricketers such as himself pursue their dream of playing professional cricket. “You can look at me and I am a great example of how departments helped Pakistani cricketers. Back in the year 2000, I was inducted by the SNGPL. If that wouldn’t have happened, I don’t think I could’ve pursued my cricket career because I could not have afforded to buy quality equipment to compete at the highest level,” he said
