Team won't stop functioning without Naseem Shah, says Mohammad Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan Cricket team's director, Saturday acknowledged pacer Naseem Shah's talent but said he was replaced by Aamer Jamal, as he is suffering from injury.

"It is not like the team can't function without him or his injury is causing immense damage to the team," he added.

The fast bowler has been reeling from an injury he endured during an Asia Cup game last year in September. According to an update shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board, Shah started the final stage of his rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore in December 2023.

Hafeez's comments came during a post-match presser in Australia after Pakistan lost a Test series against the Aussies by 3-0.

Hafeez, when commenting on the performance of the team, said Pakistan played good cricket during the tour of Australia.

"There were moments that the team could not capitalise on immediately. The Melbourne Test was defeated due to dropped catches," said Hafeez.

He added that the mistakes made on the tour also need to be corrected.

Australia beat Pakistan by eight wickets in the third and last Test match, drawing a curtain to the Green Shirts' hopes to conclude a run of 16 successive losses in the host nation since 1995.

Pakistan could add only 47 runs to their overnight tally at the cost of the last three wickets, to be dismissed for 115 an hour before lunch.

Commenting on batter and former captain Babar Azam, the team director said: "Babar Azam can be rested. Before giving rest to Babar, one has to think about what Babar himself wants."

Hafeez maintained that the management is there for Babar if requires any help.

"Not necessarily to rest, [he] can talk about improving any technique," he said, further praising Babar for being a hard worker and training hard during practice sessions.

The team director also appreciated the former skipper for playing well in matches but maintained that he needs a "big" innings.

"A big innings will restore his confidence. Red ball cricket brings sophistication to the game. A red ball cricketer can play all formats," he added.

Hafeez stated that red ball polishes the skills of cricketers.

Speaking about Shaheen Shah Afridi, the veteran cricketer said the pacer himself sought rest ahead of the third Test. 

"[We] rested Shaheen Afridi due to workload. We didn't want him to suffer any injuries due to the workload. Shaheen's return after injury put a lot of load on him," he said, adding that the management doesn't want to ruin anyone's career due to workload.

"The impression that Shaheen was rested because of the T20 series is wrong," he added.

Commenting on the matter of match fee, Hafeez said he would share a proposal with the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding Test cricket remuneration.

The proposal, he said, will seek to introduce standard Test fees for all cricket boards, so that all Test players get equal fees.