Pakistan cricket has been in bad shape for a long time. Their on-field results had been tolerable before the exit of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan left them reeling. Off the field also, it has been suffering. Financially, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been struggling a lot.
But amidst all the chaos, there is one player who seems to be raking in the moolah. That player is all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. The right-handed batsman and off-spinner has been reported to possess 170 million Pakistani rupees. What's worse, it seems that he did not report his entire wealth to the authorities. As a result, he has drawn the attention of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) of Pakistan.
On Thursday, as per reports, the FBR sent a show-cause notice to Hafeez. The cricketer though has denied receiving it. "I am unaware of any notice from the FBR. I have no idea why such news is being spread. I file my tax returns every year without fail," the veteran told Geo News.
The current Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, a former cricketer himself, has launched tax reforms aimed at better assessment of tax dues of people. Cricketers are among the richest people of Pakistan and they are bound to draw the attention of the FRB and closer scrutiny of their tax records.
Hafeez has been an international cricketer in the Pakistan team for more than a decade. He has played 55 Tests and scored 3,652 runs at an average of 37.64 with 10 centuries apart from picking up 53 wickets. In ODIs, the right-hander has played 212 games and scored 6,461 runs at an average of 33.13 with 11 hundreds alongside 138 wickets in his kitty.
He is also a very valuable T20 player and apart from representing his national side, also plays for various franchises in T20 leagues around the world. His Test career came to an end last year when he announced his retirement following the Test series against New Zealand. An inconsistent performer, Hafeez made a comeback into the Test team in that series and scored a hundred.
However, his bad form returned and the poor scores in following innings seemed to convince the opener that his time in the longest format is up. While he is a capable opener in limited-overs cricket, over the years, he also has been a very useful and economical bowler. But, at various times, he has been banned from bowling due to a suspect action. His future with the new-look Pakistan team is uncertain.
