World T20: Those who alleged that I faked injury are mentally sick, says Pakistan's Muhammad Hafeez

Karachi: A furious Muhammad Hafeez today hit back at the critics who had alleged that he had faked injury to skip the last two matches of the ICC World T20, terming them as “mentally sick people”. The top-order batsman was ruled out due to knee injury in the matches against New Zealand and Australia. Pakistan lost three matches to get ousted in the group league stage. “Only mentally sick people can think like this or talk about groupings in the team which is totally wrong. I have always played for Pakistan and I am true patriot,” Hafeez told the media on his return from India. [caption id=“attachment_2679444” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistan’s Mohammad Hafeez. AFP[/caption] “I have MRI reports to prove to everyone that my injury was a genuine one due to which I couldn’t play. People spreading baseless rumors should first look at those reports,” he said. Hafeez was Pakistan’s top scorer in the first World Cup match against Bangladesh scoring a half century but was then surprisingly sent in to bat at number seven in the match against India last Saturday. The Pakistan media manager Agha Akbar had announced in a press release that Hafeez had bone contusion/edema in the right knee and there was also minimal amount of fluid in the knee joint. “I have always tried to give my best for the country but some people just want to damage my reputation with such fabricated stories,” Hafeez claimed. The senior batsman said that he himself was disappointed at missing the two important matches but sat out on medical advice. Interestingly the team doctor, Sohail Saleem is also said to have submitted his resignation to the cricket board. Hafeez said the team lost because it didn’t click at crucial times and the batsmen and bowlers did not step up when required in the important matches. One year back Hafeez also was sent home from Australia during the World Cup on fitness grounds but later he himself claimed he could have been fit in two weeks time but the management decided to release him from the World Cup squad. PTI