“Hafeez bhai the great”: Sania Mirza congratulates Mohammad Hafeez as Lahore Qalandars win PSL 7

Sania Mirza congratulates Mohammad Hafeez: The legendary Indian Tennis star appreciated former Pakistani all-rounder.

India Tennis star Sania Mirza took to social media platform Twitter to congratulate former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez for being part of Lahore Qalandars’ Pakistan Super League 2022 winning campaign.

In what was Qalandars’ maiden PSL title, it was Hafeez’s second association with a champion side in the PSL. Back in 2017, Hafeez had first won the PSL at Peshawar Zalmi.

Coming in to bat in the fifth over with Lahore struggling at 25/3, Hafeez scored his 43rd T20 half-century before Harry Brook and David Wiese put together a game-changing unbeaten 16-ball 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

In what was Hafeez’s eighth PSL half-century, it was his fourth one for LQ. Hafeez, who hit nine fours and a six in his 69 (46), came back in the second innings to contribute with the ball as well.

Opening the bowling with captain Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-0-30-3), Hafeez registered economical bowling figures of 4-0-23-2 dismissing Multan Sultans captain and Player of the Tournament Mohammad Rizwan and batter Aamer Azmat in the process.

Hafeez’s all-round contribution in a clinical 42-run victory made him a deserving candidate for the Player of the Match award in PSL 7 final last night.

Sania Mirza congratulates Mohammad Hafeez as Lahore Qalandars win PSL 7

Hafeez’s wife Nazia Hafeez took to social media platform Twitter to post photos of her family with the PSL 7 trophy. It was Nazia’s tweet that received a retweet by Mirza.

“Hafeez bhai the great congratulations to you guys .. well done @MHafeez22,” read Mirza’s tweet.

Hafeez bhai the great 👏🏽 👏🏽 congratulations to you guys .. well done @MHafeez22 https://t.co/pby4fZ9e7x

— Sania Mirza (@MirzaSania) February 28, 2022

Readers must note that Mirza’s husband and veteran Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik was representing Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 2022. Having qualified for the playoffs, Zalmi couldn’t go past Islamabad United in Eliminator 1 despite Malik’s 71st T20 half-century.

It is noteworthy that both the experienced campaigners were among the top-performers this season. While Malik was the fourth-highest run-scorer with his 401 runs coming at an average and strike rate of 44.55 and 137.32 respectively, Hafeez was a couple of positions below with his 323 runs coming at an average and strike rate of 29.36 and 128.68 respectively.

Both handy with their off-breaks, Malik and Hafeez finished PSL 7 with three (at an economy and strike rate of 6.54 and 22) and six wickets (at an economy and strike rate of 6.50 and 18) to their name respectively.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Read More