Corrupt players should never be allowed to represent country: Mohammad Hafeez

Hafeez
told
a
media
conference
in
Lahore
after
announcing
his
retirement
that
he
stood
by
his
stance
that
players
who
“fix
matches
and
betray
their
country”
should
never
be
allowed
to
play.

“To
me,
the
biggest
disappointment
and
hurt
of
my
career
was
when
I
and
Azhar
Ali
took
a
principled
stand
on
this
issue,
but
we
were
told
by
the
board
chairman
that
if
we
don’t
want
to
play,
fine,
but
the
concerned
player
will
play,”
Hafeez
said.

Hafeez
also
made
it
clear
that
his
retirement
had
nothing
to
do
with
PCB
chairman
Ramiz
Raja’s
stance
that
he
and
Shoaib
Malik
should
have
retired
after
the
2019
World
Cup.

“No
I
had
started
thinking
about
my
retirement
since
the
2019
World
Cup
but
my
wife
and
some
well-wishers
convinced
me
to
carry
on.
But
I
had
started
thinking
about
it
since
then.

“As
far
as
what
Ramiz
said
or
felt
that
is
his
opinion
and
I
have
always
respected
critics
and
my
way
has
been
to
go
out
on
the
field
and
give
reply
to
them.
I
have
no
hard
feelings
towards
anyone
on
the
board.”

Hafeez
insisted
he
was
retiring
from
international
cricket
without
any
regrets.
The
senior
player,
however,
admitted
that
since
the
T20
World
Cup
he
had
been
trying
to
meet
the
PCB
chief.

“Ramiz
said
it
was
because
he
thought
I
wanted
to
speak
about
my
category
in
the
PSL
and
central
contracts.
But
when
I
finally
met
him
on
31st
December
I
told
him
I
just
wanted
to
inform
him
about
my
decision
to
retire.

“I
took
this
decision
because
I
want
to
set
a
new
and
positive
precedent
for
others
to
follow.
Players
must
retire
gracefully,
at
the
right
time
with
respect,
and
after
taking
the
board
into
confidence.”

Hafeez
also
called
for
better
communication
between
the
players
and
the
board.
“Improvement
is
needed
in
this
area
for
sure
because
these
communication
gaps
need
to
be
reduced
as
they
lead
to
all
kinds
of
problems.”

(With
PTI
inputs)