Pakistani journalist who talked Hafeez, Younis out of retirement
dubai — Media houses in Pakistan and Australia haven’t stopped showering Shoaib Akhtar with praise after Mohammad Hafeez revealed how the former Pakistan fast bowler motivated him at the lowest point of his life.
The 37-year-old Hafeez, one of the heroes of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy triumph last year, was so “disturbed” after the Asia Cup snub that he thought of hanging up his boots.
“I was very disturbed. I wanted to take a “drastic” decision. But my wife and a few friends stopped me,” Hafeez said at the press conference after he made a fairytale return to the Test team with a superb 126 against Australia in the first Test.
“And one of those friends is here with us in this press conference, Mr Yahya Hussaini. Shoaib Akhtar also spoke to me and asked me not to take any drastic decision.”
While the Rawalpindi Express is running away with the plaudits, Yahya Hussaini, a senior Pakistani television journalist, is just happy with the way his “friend” Hafeez silenced his critics.
So how did Hussaini convince Hafeez not to quit the game?
“I tried to motivate him when he called me after the Asia Cup team was announced without his name on it,” Hussaini told Khaleej Times.
“He was very sad. He said, ‘Yahya bhai, I played 50 Test matches and captained Pakistan in all three formats. Respect is the most important thing’.”
Hafeez, according to Hussaini, wasn’t happy with the way he had been treated over the past two years. At the same time, the veteran opener also didn’t want young openers Imam-ul Haq and Fakhar Zaman to suffer because of his own Pakistan ambitions.
“But I told him that he could still play in the 2019 World Cup because his bowling action was cleared by ICC. I was with Shoaib (Akhtar) when he called me again. I asked Shoaib to speak to him.
“Shoaib took the phone and asked Hafeez not to lose heart. That he could still make a very strong comeback,” Hussaini said.
“Next day, Hafeez spoke to new PCB chairman Ehsan Mani who assured him that he still had future. And the rest is history!”
Remarkably, Hussaini had also talked the legendary Younis Khan out of retirement in 2014.
“Just like Hafeez, Younis had acknowledged it in a television interview with Ramiz Raja after the final Test of his career,” Hussaini said. “Younis was angry after he was dropped from the oneday team in 2014. He decided to quit the game before the Australia-Pakistan Test series.
“But I spoke to him and told him that he had a great chance to become the first Pakistani to score 10,000 Test runs. Eventually, he played that Australia series, scored a lot of runs and went on to reach the 10,000 landmark.
“After Hafeez thanked me at the press conference yesterday, Younis sent me a WhatsApp message. He said I deserve credit for Hafeez’s brilliant comeback,” he said.
“You know some big Pakistani players don’t like me because I ask tough questions at press conferences. But I have always tried to help Pakistan players who have served the country so well.”