Hafeez was offered a contract by Bangladesh Premier League side Chittagong Vikings, but has turned down the opportunity as he does not want to play in the same side as Amir.
Advertisement
The player explained on Cricinfo: “I am not against any individuals”.
“If any other team makes me an offer then I will play the league and I have no problems facing Amir as I have played against him in the domestic matches, but I can’t be in the same team”.
Hafeez apparently turned down an offer of around 10 million Pakistani rupees as the franchise had already signed on Aamir.
Senior Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez on Saturday became the first cricketer to refuse to play alongside Mohammad Amir. “I can not play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country”, Hafeez told the “Jang” newspaper in Dubai. This was made possible by an amendment to its anti-corruption code which allows players get a taste of competitive cricket at a lower level a few months prior to the end of their global bans. “This is a challenge I have given a lot of thought to, and come 22nd November when we meet the Rangers in Dhaka, I will be doing my utmost to ensure that I justify the trust placed on my skills by my team and hopefully we will emerge as the trophy winners”.
“We play for the public and entertain them with a sporting spirit, and once someone abuses the role he has to play in the game I can not play and share a dressing room with such players who have abused the spirit of the game”.
Misbah said Hafeez was welcome to his personal opinion, but he felt the BPL would be a good gauge to see how Amir measures up against top-class players after returning to domestic cricket this year.
Advertisement
Amir was only 18, and regarded as one of the world’s best fast bowling prospects, at the time of his ban and spell in jail but Hafeez has no sympathy for his former global team-mate, or fellow convicted fixers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan also previously said that there were a few players who did not want to play with these three, who had been found guilty of spot-fixing in the Lord’s Test of 2010, but had their bans lifted this year as per ICC protocol. Whilst the progress towards his ultimate goal of playing global cricket has been slow and measured, Aamer feels that each small step has been worth the wait towards his final goal, “I am thankful to the Almighty that He has once again given me another opportunity to fulfil my potential”.
