Pakistan cricket team’s hopes of winning their second T20 World Cup rest on the experience of veteran cricketers, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Both the all-rounders have been crucial to Pakistan’s success in T20 cricket and were a crucial part of the setup that won the ICC Champions Trophy four years ago as well.
While the Pakistan cricketing fraternity wondered that the experienced duo might call it quits to their international careers after the success in the Champions Trophy, both the batters had other ideas and wanted to end their careers by leading Pakistan to World Cup glory. Both the batters failed to impress in the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019 as Pakistan crashed out in the group stages of the competition.
Two years later, the duo is still considered an asset for the Pakistan cricket team and their experience is seen as a crucial part of leading Pakistan to T20 World Cup glory in UAE. While Hafeez has been a regular part of Pakistan’s T20 team and was in sublime form over the past few years, Malik has not been a part of the squad since their tour of England in 2020. Malik’s recent form in the 2021 National T20 Cup earned him a call-up to the squad at the expense of Sohaib Maqsood, who was ruled out of the tournament due to an injury.
Let’s have a look at their T20I batting record:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 103 | 2,429 | 26.40 | 120.96 | 14 |
| Shoaib Malik | 105 | 2,323 | 31.39 | 124.22 | 8 |
Both Hafeez and Malik have been a part of most of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squads. Both Hafeez and Malik have played all but one edition of the T20 World Cup. Malik was not a part of the squad for the 2010 T20 World Cup while Hafeez was missing in Pakistan’s title-winning squad in 2009.
The veteran all-rounders will be determined to prove the naysayers wrong and prove their worth in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The question is, will they be able to deliver at the biggest stage given their previous record at T20 World Cups.
Here’s how Hafeez and Malik have done in T20 World Cups:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 22 | 426 | 20.28 | 105.18 | 1 |
| Shoaib Malik | 27 | 546 | 32.11 | 116.41 | 2 |
The experienced duo might not have been able to perform up to expectations in the T20 World Cups, but they have been able to transform their T20 game in the past few years. Both the players are some of the most sought-after players in franchise T20 leagues around the world and their record in T20 cricket over the last two years has been immaculate. The Men in Green will be hoping that the duo takes their rich vein of form into the 2021 T20 World Cup and take Pakistan to glory.
Here is their record in T20s since 2020:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 56 | 1,561 | 35.47 | 132.96 | 11 |
| Shoaib Malik | 65 | 1,676 | 32.86 | 131.34 | 11 |
The duo’s overall record in T20 cricket is as follows:
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 316 | 7,314 | 26.02 | 123.25 | 42 |
| Shoaib Malik | 413 | 11,033 | 36.53 | 126.19 | 67 |
They might also be needed with the ball in hand given the spin-friendly conditions in the UAE. Their right-arm off-spin can be a decent weapon for Pakistan against the left-handers and both the bowlers are more than capable of restricting the opponent batters with their accurate bowling.
Let’s have a look at their overall T20 bowling numbers:
| Player | Matches | Wickets | Runs Conceded | Average | Economy Rate |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 339 | 190 | 4,497 | 23.66 | 6.39 |
| Shoaib Malik | 443 | 152 | 4,211 | 27.70 | 7.04 |
