Michael Vaughan, former England captain, and Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan’s Director of Cricket, were seen sharing a friendly moment as they posed for a selfie during Day 1 of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan at Optus Stadium in Perth. This encounter followed some disagreements they had on social media regarding Virat Kohli's batting style and approach during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
Hafeez had criticised Kohli's batting strategy, specifically focusing on an over during the game against South Africa in the recently concluded ODI World Cup 2023 where he felt Kohli prioritized personal milestones over the team's needs. Vaughan, on the other hand, defended Kohli's approach and also reminded Hafeez of being one of Kohli's bowling victims in a T20 World Cup match between India and Pakistan in 2012.
Despite their previous differences, the two seemed happy to meet each other in Perth and took a friendly selfie together. Vaughan shared the photo on social media platform X, expressing his pleasure at catching up with Hafeez.
“Great to catch up with @MHafeez22 in #Perth,” Vaughan posted on ‘X’.
Currently, Pakistan are competing against Australia in the first Test of a three-match series. Pakistan has never won a Test series against Australia and last won a Test match on Australian soil in 1995.
As the first test match progressed, Australia held a strong position on Day 1, scoring 346-5 after 84 overs. David Warner's achievement of securing his 26th test century is noteworthy amid ongoing criticism regarding his recent struggles in test cricket.
Australia starting XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (C), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan starting XI: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad