Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez, two former Pakistan cricket stars, have gotten into a disagreement about the legacy of past cricketers. Hafeez pointed out that players like Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis didn’t win an ICC trophy for Pakistan, while the team led by Younis Khan won the T20 World Cup in 2009 and set a standard for future players. Akhtar fired back at Hafeez’s remarks, expressing his admiration for the 1990s players but arguing that they contributed a lot to the game.
Hafeez explained that even though those players were in World Cups in 1996, 1999, and 2003, they didn’t come away with a title, with the 1999 final loss being especially tough. In response, Akhtar mentioned on a Pakistan Super League TV show that Akram and Younis played a huge part in winning many matches, claiming they led the team to at least 60 victories together. He questioned Hafeez’s perspective, asking who he believes truly left a legacy if not Akram and Younis. While it’s true that the older team didn’t win an ICC trophy, Akram was on the squad that won the World Cup in 1992 with Imran Khan. Hafeez himself was part of the team that won the Champions Trophy in 2017 and came in second at the T20 World Cup in 2007.