‘Looking forward to India playing in Pakistan soon’ Pakistan’s Twenty20 team skipper Mohammad Hafeez speaks to Rajesh Pansare on his plans for the World T20 and tips he has taken from Mahela Jayawardene. Excerpts:

‘Looking forward to India playing in Pakistan soon’

Pakistan’s Twenty20 team skipper Mohammad Hafeez speaks to Rajesh Pansare on his plans for the World T20 and tips he has taken from Mahela Jayawardene. Excerpts:

What is your take on various T20 league mushrooming around the world? The one good thing about T20 leagues is that it always helps local players. They get to play alongside international stars, which is good for their development. Like in Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) has also seen some exciting young talent emerging like Wayamba United’s Akila Dananjaya and many others. Your team Wayamba have been the pace setters in the SLPL. Do you think the team may get a bit relaxed because of your scintillating run? The guys are taking every game seriously. The way they are coming up with strong performance is very special. I must give credit to skipper (Mahela) Jayawardene and coach Trevor Bayliss for the way they have handled the team. They have given the youngsters instruction to go out there, enjoy and express themselves. That has given us a lot of positive results. You might think a bit of laxity may creep in but that’s not the case with us. Now that you will be leading Pakistan at the World T20, are you taking any tips from Jayawardene? It is good to share the dressing room with some of the best in the world. Mahela is very supportive in the dressing room. I’m learning a lot from him, especially the way he deals with the youngsters. He has already shown what a great character he is at the international level. Are you using the SLPL as a dress rehearsal for the World T20? To be honest, the Pakistan team had a very busy schedule of late. We just had a series against Sri Lanka and there was no thought of coming back to Sri Lanka and play in the SLPL. But we realised that this will give us an opportunity to prepare for the World T20 as the two stadiums used for the tournament – Premadasa and Pallekele – will also be used for the world championship. That is the reason most players from Pakistan T20 squad are playing in the SLPL. SLPL and the series against Australia in the UAE will help us get back into the one-day mode and some out-of-form players can get back into the groove before World T20. I as the captain have made some plans on how our approach will be against each opposition and the team picked is the best we have. Do you feel it’s time India and Pakistan played more regularly? I can’t predict anything. Personally, I feel that Pakistan and India should play everywhere. There shouldn’t be any politics involved. I understand the boards — BCCI and PCB — are doing their best to get the situation back on track. A short series in December is a step in the right direction. We are also looking to India playing in Pakistan, because the people in my country love them a lot and really want to watch them in action. There hasn’t been any international cricket played in Pakistan for the last three years. How difficult it is for the player to stay away from home for such a long duration? This is the case with all international players. Once you are a regular in the team, you will always play away from home. For us, there is nothing such as home series as we have been playing away for the last three years. People of Pakistan are really missing the action. We are missing playing at home too. On the family front, it’s hard but whenever possible I try to take my family along with me. For instance, we will be leaving Sri Lanka and head to UAE for the Australia series and then we are back in Sri Lanka for the World T20. The schedule is so tight that we can’t go back to Pakistan.