Hafeez refuses to play alongside Amir in BPL

Published November 21, 2015
Hafeez reportedly turned down an offer of around 10 million Pakistani rupees as the franchise had already signed on Amir. — File
Hafeez reportedly turned down an offer of around 10 million Pakistani rupees as the franchise had already signed on Amir. — File

Pakistan's batsman Mohammad Hafeez turned down an offer from Chittagong Vikings to feature in the Bangladesh Premier League as the franchise had already signed tainted fast bowler Mohammad Amir.

Hafeez reportedly turned down an offer of around 10 million Pakistani rupees as the franchise snapped up Amir in a pre-draft deal.

The former captain said he could not 'share a dressing room with a player who tarnished the image of Pakistan.'

“It is not about individuals or any personality clash. It is about the image of Pakistan cricket. I cannot play with any player who has tarnished and brought a bad name to the country,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

“This is my personal opinion and this is not just about Pakistani players, it's about all players,” the 35-year-old added.

“I didn't get a direct offer from the BPL team but some agent came up with the offer and I turned it down only because I didn't want to share a dressing room with that player.”

The 35-year-old has publicly aired his feelings about Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif in the past as well.

Recently, when the Pakistan team was practicing at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, its former bowling coach Mohammad Akram invited Amir to bowl to Hafeez in the nets but Hafeez flatly refused to face the left-armer because of his tainted past.

Hafeez is also said to be among a group of players in the Pakistan side who are strongly opposed to allowing the spot-fixing trio to play for the national team again in any format.

The BPL has signed around 16 top players from Pakistan and most of these players will go to Bangladesh straight from Dubai after the T20 series against England.

The top players include Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah.

Amir, the Akmal brothers and Ajmal have all been signed up by Chittagong.

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