Islamabad, Feb 16: Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday announced that they have decided to part ways with Mohammad Hafeez, who served as the director of cricket for the Pakistan men’s cricket team.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board extends heartfelt gratitude to Mohammad Hafeez, Director of Pakistan men’s cricket team, for his invaluable contributions. Hafeez’s passion for the game has inspired players and his mentorship during the tour of Australia and New Zealand have been of immense importance. The PCB wishes Hafeez good luck and success in his future endeavours,” Pakistan Cricket posted on X.
Hafeez was appointed Director – Pakistan men’s cricket team in the aftermath of a disappointing ICC World Cup 2023 campaign. The side failed to make it to the semifinals and finished with just four wins. This saw several changes in the Pakistan leadership setup.
After Babar Azam resigned from captaincy, Shan Masood and Shaheen Afridi were given leadership roles in the Test and T20I formats respectively.
Mickey Arthur, the previous Director of Men’s Cricket, Grant Bradburn, the former head coach, and Andrew Puttick, the former batting coach were sent to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Later, the trio resigned from their respective positions.
Another significant change in the Pakistan arrangement was the termination of Haris Rauf’s central contract. He was penalized after the PCB investigated his reluctance to join Pakistan’s Test team for the just finished Australia tour.
Hafeez was handed the duty following a successful cricketing career. The all-rounder represented Pakistan in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is, scoring 12,780 runs and taking 253 wickets.
Pakistan, on the other hand, had a disappointing performance in Australia. Despite moments of brilliance, Pakistan lost the three-game Test series 3-0. Their performance in the five-game T20I series in New Zealand was no better, as the team fell 4-1.