The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selected former Test captain Mohammad Hafeez as national team director on Wednesday (November 15). He will succeed Mickey Arthur, who has yet to be removed by the board.
Morne Morkel has already resigned as bowling coach, while head coach Grant Bradburn and batting coach Andrew Puttick are set to be fired following Pakistan’s disastrous performance at the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
While the PCB will disclose the new coaching team for the upcoming series in Australia and New Zealand in due course, all instructors will continue at the National Cricket Academy.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Hafeez has been recruiting local cricketers to fill the job of Men in Green coach. Babar Azam, on the other hand, chose to resign as captain across formats during a meeting with PCB Chairman Management Committee Zaka Ashraf today at the PCB headquarters in Lahore. Zaka Ashraf was asked to continue as Test captain, but in order to focus on one format, he was deprived of the white-ball command. Babar decided to resign after consulting with his family, and PCB supports his decision.
“Babar Azam is truly a world-class player, and we want him to continue to thrive as a player,” said PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf. He is one of Pakistan’s most talented batters. He is a valuable asset to us, and we will continue to assist him. His hitting prowess demonstrates his passion and skill. He is a role model for today’s youth.
“We want to see him develop as a great batter, and now that he is free of the additional burden of captaincy, he can concentrate more on his performances to reach even greater heights.” We appreciate his decision and will stand with him.”
Meanwhile, the PCB announced that Shaheen Shah Afridi has been selected T20I captain and Shan Masood has been named Test captain of the Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team.
Shan will skipper the team till the end of the 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship. Shan’s first duty as captain will be to lead Australia in a three-match Test series beginning in Australia on December 14.
The five-match Twenty20 International series in New Zealand from January 12 to 21 will be left-arm bowler Shaheen Shah’s maiden assignment as Pakistan Men’s Team captain.
