Ex-Pakistan Captain Defends Calling Virat Kohli ‘Selfish’, Blasts This India Batter

Former Pakistan cricket team captain Mohammad Hafeez caused quite a stir in the cricketing world when he called star India batter Virat Kohli ‘selfish’ following his century against South Africa in Cricket World Cup 2023. Virat slammed his 49th international ton off 121 balls during the group stage match against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. However, Hafeez said that Virat focused more on personal milestones and did not play for the team. During a recent episode of the Club Prairie Fire podcast with Australia legend Adam Gilchrist and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan, Hafeez was asked about his comments and the former Pakistan all-rounder doubled down on his views regarding Virat Kohli.

“I believe I was correct at that time. No matter who is batting, you should always show intent to go for the win. If someone is showing restraint especially in the nineties, I don’t find it right. If you are on 95 and you take more than 5 deliveries to get to the century and not going for the big shot, it’s really sad,” he said.

“If you start firing after the hundred, why did the intention suddenly change. Why didn’t you go for the big hit on 95. No matter what your individual score is your intention must not change, a big hit would benefit your team” he added.

Hafeez

‘Virat Kohli a selfish player he slowed down nearing his 100 took a lot of balls & stopped his shots.’

– @MHafeez22 | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/JFWn55uMzr

— M (@anngrypakiistan) June 20, 2024

“In my opinion, Virat took a lot of time to reach his hundred in that game. You can check the match proceedings. To me, personal milestones have no place, people will not watch your 50, 100 or a 5-wicket haul if it’s in a losing cause. In this sport, every run matters,” he remarked.

Hafeez also slammed KL Rahul for express disappointment after he finished the Cricket World Cup 2023 group stage match against Australia with a six but narrowly missed out on a century.

“I remember in the same tournament, KL Rahul played a fantastic shot over extra cover to finish the game off (vs Australia) and he was not happy that India won the game but was unhappy because he couldn’t get his own hundred. This is a selfish selfish approach and then the same happened when Virat Kohli did the same thing when he was more into his 100 than adding value to the team (vs South Africa),” he said.