He Was With KKR in 2008 And Then Excluded…But Is Still Sizzling At 44 Years in WCL 2025
Legendary Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez turned back the clock on Friday as he slammed 54 runs from 34 balls for Pakistan Champions in the 2025 World Championship of Legends opener against England Champions in Birmingham.
Why Pakistan players including Mohammad Hafeez were banned from IPL after 2008
It has to be noted that Hafeez, now 44 years old, was with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2008, the inaugural season of the cash-rich league. It was a forgettable IPL campaign for the former Pakistan captain, who scored just 64 runs from eight matches at an underwhelming strike-rate of 77.10.
The IPL 2008 season witnessed 12 players from Pakistan competing in the tournament. However, Pakistan players have been banned from competing in the IPL ever since.
This is because of the political tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks that took place later in 2008. This is also the reason why Mohammad Hafeez was excluded from playing in the IPL after 2008.
Mohammad Hafeez’s excellent display in WCL opener
In Friday’s World Championship of Legends opener, England Champions won the toss and asked Pakistan Champions to bat first. The Men in Green were off to a shaky start after having lost openers Sharjeel Khan (12) and Kamran Akmal (8) within the first five overs.
However, in came Mohammad Hafeez at No.4, and despite losing partners at the other end at regular intervals, Hafeez stood tall. Hafeez collected eight boundaries during his knock, including two consecutive fours off Liam Plunkett in the seventh over and three consecutive fours off Chris Tremlett in the 15th over.
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His knock helped Pakistan Champions post 160/9 from 20 overs. At the time of writing this report, England Champions were 89/2 in 13.1 overs with opener Phil Mustard (47) and Ian Bell (16) batting.
India Champions, Australia Champions, West Indies Champions and South Africa Champions are the other teams who are competing in the tournament. India Champions will be led by Yuvraj Singh and will take on Pakistan Champions in Birmingham on Sunday (July 20).
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