Controversy between Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Akhtar over an old statement during PSL; Know more

There was a noteworthy incident in a thrilling match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) of the year 2025 in which the veteran pacer of Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar, engaged in a heated argument with the former captain of the country, Mohammad Hafeez, regarding a statement given by Hafeez during the ICC Champions Trophy a while back when he questioned the cricketers of the decade of the 1990s.

After Pakistan's poor performance in the Champions Trophy, Hafeez had said, "I am a fan of the players of the 90s, but when it comes to legacy, they left nothing. They played in the 1996, 1999, and 2003 World Cups, but the team never got title success. Reached the final in 1999, but lost badly there too."

There was no reaction to this statement of Hafeez then, but while commentating during a PSL match, Shoaib Akhtar openly expressed his displeasure. He said, "There was a time when legends like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis won many matches and series for Pakistan. I have seen with my own eyes that they won at least 60 matches. And now someone says that they did not leave a legacy? Then who left the legacy? Did you (Hafeez) leave?"

The performance of the team led by Mohammad Rizwan in the Champions Trophy was very poor. It was eliminated in the first round itself. They were defeated by New Zealand by 60 runs in the very first match. After this, India defeated Pakistan by six wickets. At the same time, the last match of the group stage played against Bangladesh was canceled without a single ball being bowled due to rain. In this way, the team could not win a single match in this tournament.