Former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has sought to clarify his controversial comments regarding the legacy of the country's cricket legends from the 1990s, which drew significant backlash from the cricket community in Pakistan. His remarks followed Pakistan's disappointing performance in the Champions Trophy 2025.

Under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, the team faced severe criticism after failing to secure a victory in the tournament, suffering defeats against New Zealand and India, and having their final match against Bangladesh canceled due to rain. In the midst of this criticism, Hafeez expressed his views during a live television broadcast, questioning the contributions of the cricketers from the 1990s. He noted that following Pakistan's celebrated victory in the 1992 World Cup, the team did not achieve success in subsequent ICC tournaments.

"I hold great admiration for the players of the 1990s, but in terms of legacy, they did not leave a significant mark for Pakistan. They did not win any ICC events, losing in the World Cups of 1996, 1999, and 2003. We reached the final in 1999 but suffered a heavy defeat," Hafeez stated.

His comments were met with fierce criticism from former cricketers, including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Inzamam-ul-Haq, among others.

Hafeez issues clarification

In response to the intense criticism, the former all-rounder from Pakistan utilized social media on Monday to issue a clarification. He emphasized that his remarks were not intended as a personal attack on any individual player, but rather aimed to underscore the fact that despite the abundance of talent in Pakistan during the 1990s, the team secured only one ICC tournament victory.

"Certain media outlets are misrepresenting my comments. The focus of the discussion was on teams winning ICC events to motivate future generations. I aimed to illustrate how, despite the immense cricketing talent in Pakistan, the team was unable to clinch ICC titles (after the 1992 World Cup) in 1996, 1999, and 2003. My intention was never to personally criticize any player."

A new-look Pakistan side are currently in the midst of a five-match T20I series against New Zealand. They lost the opening game on Sunday in Christchurch by nine wickets, but aim to bounce back on Tuesday in Dunedin in the second game.

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