The verbal warfare between Mohammad Hafeez and Ramiz Raja continues as Ramiz looks for universal veterans to make him inaccessible to the T20I series between Pakistan and South Africa.
Hafeez reportedly notified the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) of his unavailability before the team toured New Zealand. Hafeez currently plays in the Abu Dhabi T10 league and can only join Pakistan’s biosafety deadline after the deadline.
All players selected for the T20I team must join the biosecurity bubble before February 3, while the Abu Dhabi T10 League must end on February 6.
Ramiz believes that the franchise league’s preference over the national team reflects the level of thinking of the player. Ramiz says if a player chooses a franchise league against his national team, he is not on the right track.
“One should think about Pakistan instead of being selfish because nobody will back you,“Ramiz said
Ramiz added that Pakistan had suffered heavy casualties over the years and that eventually the international team was ready to tour the country. Therefore, everything must comply with security protocols and COVID-19. He said that even if there were last minute changes, the players had to be ready and willing to do their best to wear the green jersey.
Ramiz said, like Asif Ali and Haris Rauf, they had also played in various franchise leagues, but had terminated their contracts and returned to the national team.
The feud between Ramiz and Hafeez began several years ago when Ramiz said Hafeez should resign and let a young man take his place. Hafeez replied that he would play as long as he was fit. Hafeez recently dug himself into Ramiz when he said his son had a better cricket experience than Ramiz.
