Lahore, Feb 15 (IANS) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday ended the tenure of Mohammad Hafeez as the Director of the Pakistan men’s cricket team following the twin debacles in Australia and New Zealand.
The PCB on Thursday announced that Hafeez would not get an extension and that his tenure is over, thanking him for his contribution to the country’s cricket team.
Pakistan ended the tour of Australia with a 0-3 result in the Test series while their visit to New Zealand resulted in a 1-4 defeat in the T20I series.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board extends heartfelt gratitude to Mohammad Hafeez, Director, 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,” the PCB announced in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Hafeez was appointed Director – Pakistan men’s cricket team in the aftermath of a disappointing ICC Men’s Cricket 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 responsibility in the Test and T20I formats respectively.
Mickey Arthur, the former Director of the men’s cricket side, along with Grant Bradburn, the former head coach, and Andrew Puttick, the former batting coach, were all assigned to the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Later, the trio resigned from their respective posts.
Mohammad Hafeez was given the responsibility on the back of a rich cricketing career. The all-rounder had represented Pakistan in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is and had scored 12,780 runs along with 253 wickets to his name.
However, Pakistan’s tour Down Under was underwhelming. Despite showing sparks of brilliance, Pakistan lost the three-game Test series by a decisive margin of 3-0. Their run in the five-game T20I series in New Zealand was no better, where the side lost 4-1.
–IANS
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