‘Saw 4-5 players sleeping in dressing room during Test match’ – Mohammad Hafeez reveals shocking incident from his tenure with Pakistan team

Mohammad Hafeez. (Source – Getty Images)

Nothing seems to be going right for Pakistan, past or present. The future remains uncertain, with potential controversies looming that could keep the men’s cricket team in the unwanted spotlight. Following their unexpected exit from the group stage of the T20 World Cup 2024, several instances have come to light – such as those highlighted by head coach, Gary Kirsten, indicating a severe lack of cohesion within the team. This sentiment was further confirmed by former Pakistani cricketer, Ahmed Shahzad. 

Recently, former skipper of Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez, appeared on the Club Prairie Fire podcast, co-hosted by cricketing luminaries, Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist, where he disclosed a shocking incident he witnessed firsthand.

During one of the Test matches under his tenure as the men’s team director (specific details of the match weren’t provided), Hafeez observed 4 to 5 players sleeping in the dressing room during Pakistan’s batting innings. He sternly warned those players that if such behavior occurred again, they would no longer be part of the team. Hafeez emphasized that, while he refrains from interfering in players’ personal lives outside of professional settings, it is imperative to remain engaged in the game even after one’s individual contribution is completed.

Also Read: ‘Today, one of them is a selector and one is in the playing XI’ – Virender Sehwag points out bias in Pakistan team selection

Hafeez just told 4/5 players were sleeping in the middle of a test match, that’s 2 are batting so that’s 4/5 players awake. pic.twitter.com/74mJAozfuy

— Zak (@Zakr1a) June 20, 2024

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“I entered in the dressing room and saw 4-5 players in the dressing room while playing a Test match. I was like, ‘how can you guys do that?’. If you guys do something like that, you can’t be a part of the team. I want the guys to stay focused during the game and off the game, whatever the guys do, I never get involved in that. But in the professional timings of a game, I want players to focus entirely on the game,” shared Hafeez, while featuring on the Club Prairie Fire podcast.