Mohammad Hafeez once again clarified his 'no legacy' remark regarding the 90s Pakistani players as he alleged that the media houses were fabricating what he actually said and were taking it out of context. Hafeez reiterated that his comment was never a personal criticism of any player and was rather a reflection of Pakistan not winning any ICC trophy after 1992 and the players leaving any legacy for his generation.
"Some of the media houses are fabricating the actual content. Context of discussion was all about Teams winning ICC events to inspire coming generations. Therefore I explained how the greats of game from Pakistan with all the cricket talent they have couldn’t win ICC events (post 92 WC) in 1996,1999 & 2003. It was never a personal criticism on any of the respective player from my side," Hafeez wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on March 17.
Hafeez had said, "I am a huge fan of those who played in the 1990s but when it comes to legacy, they left nothing for Pakistan. They didn't win an ICC event - they lost the (World Cups of) 1996, 1999 and 2003. We reached one final (in the 1999 World Cup) and lost that badly. As stars, as players, they were the mega superstars. But then they couldn't inspire us by winning an ICC event" on the 'Game On' show on PTV during the Champions Trophy.
Shoaib Akhtar, former Pakistan pacer on the same panel, was quick to correct Hafeez by saying that the team has won 73 matches in ODIs against India and are still in the lead and that the players would have done something right to be able to have that record. After which Hafeez reiterated on the show that he didn't criticise any player but stated that the fact that Pakistan didn't win an ICC trophy from 1993 to 2009 until the World T20 win in England.
Pakistan won the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in 1992 under Imran Khan, followed by the T20 World Cup triumph in 2009 and the Champions Trophy victory in 2017.
Pakistan, who were the hosts of the Champions Trophy, had a poor campaign as they finished at the bottom of Group A losing to India and New Zealand with their final game getting washed out against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.