Pakistan’s right-arm fast bowler Hasan Ali reacted to former Team Director Mohammad Hafeez’s claims regarding the national players sleeping in the dressing during the Test series against Australia.
In an interview, Hasan Ali rejected Mohammad Hafeez’s claims before going on to share that the previous management had allowed players, especially fast bowlers, to take naps if needed to recover.
“I don’t know, actually, but it should be the way Hafeez said. I don’t think anyone slept in the dressing room after that. When Hafeez said that I was not part of the first game, all the players who were not part of the playing XI were sitting in the dugout watching the game. Even the management was sitting there. But I would say especially for the fast bowlers, when you bowl for one and a half days you need to recover, and you could take a 20-30 minute nap, but for those who feel like they need,” Hasan said.
“In the past, the management set the rule that if someone needed a nap for recovery, especially the fast bowlers, they could do that. But if Hafeez, as the head coach and director of Cricket, said no one was going to sleep, then fair enough. If he set the rule, we had to follow it,” he added.
What did Mohammaz Hafeez say?
Hafeez, who served as Pakistan men’s cricket eam Director from November 2023 to February 2024 and also as the interim head coach, criticised the national players after Pakistan’s group-stage exit from the T20 World Cup 2024 and highlighted that they lack discipline.
In a conversation with renowned cricketing figures, England’s Michael Vaughan and Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, Hafeez claimed that the players used to sleep in the dressing room during Test matches.
“You tell me, Gilly [Gilchrist] if a player is sleeping in the dressing room while we’re playing Test cricket. 4-5 players are sleeping in the dressing room. Should I allow that as a team director?” Hafeez questioned.
Vaughan wittily asked, “Are they tired?” to which Hafeez continued with a serious tone, “I really don’t know. I went into the dressing room and found 4-5 players sleeping while playing Test cricket. I was like, ‘How come you guys can do that?’ If you do something like this, you cannot be a part of this team.”
