'This is utter nonsense' - Michael Vaughan slams Mohammad Hafeez for terming Virat Kohli's 49 ODI hundred 'selfish'

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan skipper has called out former Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez for his latest comments. Apparently, the latter said that Virat Kohli's 49th ODI was a selfish innings. In the ODI World Cup 2023 game between India and South Africa, the former India skipper equaled Sachin Tendulkar's record of 49 hundred on a spinning track.

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"I saw a sense of selfishness in Virat Kohli's batting and this happened for the third time in this World Cup. In the 49th over, he was looking to take a single to reach his own hundred and he didn't put the team first. Rohit Sharma could have played selfish cricket too, but he didn't because he is playing for Team India and not for himself."

Virat Kohli's innings was an anchor for the team: Michael Vaughan

In reply, the former England skipper has said that the Men In Blue has won eight games due to good cricket. He added that Kohli's innings was anchor on a tricky pitch.

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"Come on @MHafeez22 !!! India have hammered 8 teams playing great cricket .. @imVkohli now has 49 tons and his last was an anchor role innings on a tricky pitch .. His team won by over 200 !!!! This is utter nonsense .. #CWC2023 #India #Pakistan," the cricketer-turned-commentator wrote on X.

Come on @MHafeez22 !!! India have hammered 8 teams playing great cricket .. @imVkohli now has 49 tons and his last was an anchor role innings on a tricky pitch .. His team won by over 200 !!!! This is utter nonsense .. #CWC2023 #India #Pakistan https://t.co/Foh3hhz3RE

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 7, 2023

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On the other hand, Kohli had called Kolkata's pitch, a slow one.

"People from the outside probably look at the game in a different way. When the openers start in that fashion when the ball is new, you feel like wow, this is a belter and everyone has to keep going that way. But the conditions changed with the old ball, the pitch slows down."

"Message from the management was simple: I bat deep, the guys around me they bat with me, string in partnerships, express themselves and keep doing the job that the team wants me to do," he continued. "That's my role, has always been my role."

"I was just happy from that perspective because on pitches like these, if you get out, you can always look back and say 295, maybe we could have got 320-325. Once you are above 315, we knew it's above par and we are in a comfortable situation," Kohli added.