The ongoing five-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand could turn out to be Mohammad Hafeez‘s last assignment as the team director, according to reports.
The former Pakistan captain was appointed as the team director in November last year after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) overhauled the backroom staff following the team’s disastrous performance in the ODI World Cup. Mohammad Hafeez replaced Mickey Arthur as the team director.
The three-match Test series in Australia was his first assignment while the ongoing series against New Zealand is only his second. And according to a report in the Dawn, Mohammad Hafeez could be asked to step down from his post after just two series.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) is reportedly not willing to allow PCB’s Interim Management Committee (IMC) chief Zaka Ashraf to form the Board of Governors (BoGs), the electoral college of the PCB, which has to elect chairman of the Board for a three-year term. As a consequence, Ashraf might leave the post after February 4.
Mohammad Hafeez likely to step down:
The report stated that Mohammad Hafeez is likely to be removed as the team director if Ashraf’s tenure ends on February 4. According to other reports, several players in the Pakistan room are unhappy with Hafeez’s style of working. The players are also unhappy with the current PCB administration’s stance over providing No Objection Certificates to play in T20 leagues.
“These [Pakistan] cricketers are giving top priority to international leagues over the [PCB] central contract and they are not [primarily] willing to play for their own country,” a PCB official told Dawn.
“The [national team] players in New Zealand are not in total command of team director. Mohammad Hafeez as they know he will soon be no longer at the helm of affairs and will leave with Zaka after Feb 4,” added the official.
The report further stated that Hafeez has also been operating as Pakistan’s head coach and is drawing two salaries, the total of which is almost equal to what the PCB was paying to his predecessor Mickey Arthur and head coach Grant Bradburn.
Meanwhile, Pakistan are yet to win a single game since Hafeez took charge. They suffered a whitewash in the three-match Test series in Australia and have lost the first three T20Is of the ongoing series in New Zealand.
