Cricket fans troll Lucknow Super Giants over bizarre Hafeez post

Pakistan cricket fans took aim at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) after the team shared a controversial social media post featuring former Pakistan captain and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez.

LSG posted a banner on social media platform 'X' showing Hafeez's photo from an ODI match against India, where he left the ball to face pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, only for it to hit the stumps.

The post was captioned: “POV: Your first ball on ODI debut is a jaffa.”

The incident dates back to Pakistan's last tour of India in 2012, which included a two-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series. While the T20I series ended 1-1, Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1.

In the first ODI, Pakistan bowled India out for 227/6. During the chase, Hafeez was dismissed for a golden duck by an in-swinging delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, shocking fans.

However, Pakistan successfully chased the total, with Nasir Jamshed scoring a match-winning century—101 off 132 balls, including five fours and one six.

Fans quickly flooded the comment sections, reminding LSG that Pakistan ultimately won the match despite Hafeez's dismissal.

Some mentioned Shahid Afridi, recalling his two sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in a later Asia Cup match that sealed a Pakistan victory.

One fan wrote: “I was just thinking about the 2012 ODI series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar announced himself by taking Mohammad Hafeez's wicket on his very first ball—a brilliant start—but Pakistan ended up winning the series 2-1.”

Others poked fun at India's promotional tagline for the series, “Aa raha hai Pakistan, aane do,” pointing out the irony that Pakistan eventually won.