Mohammad Hafeez Appointed As Director of Pakistan Cricket Team; Mickey Arthur And Foreign Staff To Be Sacked Soon

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Pakistan's former Test captain Mohammad Hafeez was appointed as the director of the national team by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday (November 15). He will take over from Mickey Arthur, who is yet to be fired by the board.

Morne Morkel has already resigned as the bowling coach while head coach Grant Bradburn and batting coach Andrew Puttick are soon to be sacked after the catastrophic show by Pakistan at the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.

While the PCB will reveal the new coaching team in due course for the forthcoming series in Australia and New Zealand, all coaches will remain employed with the National Cricket Academy.

In the meantime, Mohammad Hafeez has been reaching out to neighborhood cricket players to fill the position of Men in Green coach. On the other hand, Babar Azam decided to resign as captain across formats after a meeting between him and PCB Chairman Management Committee Zaka Ashraf that took place today at the PCB headquarters in Lahore.

Zaka Ashraf was asked to stay on as Test captain, but in order to concentrate on one format, he was stripped of the command in white-ball cricket. Babar made the decision to resign after talking with his family, and PCB supports his choice.

Chairman PCB Management Committee Zaka Ashraf: "Babar Azam is truly a world-class player and we want him to continue to thrive as a player. He is one of the best batters Pakistan has ever produced. He is our asset, and we will continue to support him. His batting prowess is a testament to his dedication and skill. He is a role model for the present generation.

"We want to see him grow as a great batter and now without his additional burden of the captaincy, he can focus more on his performances to reach even greater heights. We respect his decision and will continue to back him."

In the meantime, PCB also announced that Shaheen Shah Afridi has been named the T20I captain and Shan Masood the Test captain of the Pakistan Men's Cricket Team.

Shan will serve as captain through the conclusion of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship. Shan's first task as captain will be to lead Australia in a three-match Test series that begins on December 14 in Australia.

The five-match T20I series in New Zealand from January 12 to 21 will be the left-arm bowler Shaheen Shah's first assignment as captain of the Pakistan Men's Team.