Mohammad Hafeez slams PCB as Pakistan cricketer's video goes viral

Pic Courtesy: Reuters

Lahore: Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has slammed the national cricket board for the new model which has looked for an overhaul of developmental cricket in the nation.

The 38-year-old criticised the board after a video of former Pakistan domestic cricketer Fazal Subhan driving a pick up van went viral on social media last week.

Subhan, speaking about his struggles, was posted on Twitter by a Pakistani journalist and drew widespread criticism from cricket fans, who questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over the new model.

Hafeez, who shared the video on Twitter, wrote: "So sad Really, Like him & (sic) Many others are suffering, New system will look after 200 players but 1000s of cricketers & management staff are unemployed because of this new model."

"I don't know who will take the responsibility of this unemployment of cricket fraternity, for all the victims," he added.

In the video, Subhan had said: "Yes, I drive this (pickup) for bhara (fare). This is seasonal work. Some days there is a lot of work, and sometimes there is nothing for 10 days."

"I worked so hard to play for Pakistan. During departmental cricket, we were drawing a salary of Rs 100,000 but since the departments have shut down we are down to Rs 30,000-Rs 35,000, which is not enough to survive," he added.

He said, "I am grateful that at least I have this job right now because of the way things are, who knows if I would even have this tomorrow. We have no choice; we have to do something for our children."

During his domestic career, Subhan played 40 first-class matches, scoring 2,301 runs at an average of 32.87. He also featured in 29 List A matches, scoring 659 runs.