Former captain and all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez has
been appointed as the Director of Pakistan men’s cricket team, announced the
Pakistan Cricket Board or PCB on Wednesday.
“Former Test captain Mohammad Hafeez has been given
the responsibility of Director – Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team. Mohammad Hafeez
has featured for Pakistan in 55 Tests, 218 ODIs, and 119 T20Is and has scored
12,780 runs and has taken 253 wickets,” read a statement from the PCB.
Hafeez was recently part of the PCB Cricket Technical
Committee. The former all-rounder was part of the Pakistan Men’s team which won
the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2017. He has taken over the post from
Mickey Arthur, who has also served Pakistan as head coach.
The PCB has changed the portfolio of the Pakistan
coaching staff. All coaches will continue to work in National Cricket Academy
while PCB will announce the new coaching staff in due course for the upcoming
series in Australia and New Zealand.
Also, star Pakistan batter Babar Azam announced his
decision to step down as Pakistan captain from all formats of the game after
his side’s debacle in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
The 28-year-old player has relinquished the captaincy
role of the side from all formats, he made the announcement on X via a
statement.
“I vividly remember the moment when I received the
call from the PCB to lead Pakistan in 2019. Over the last four years, I’ve
experienced many highs and lows on and off the field, but I wholeheartedly and
passionately aimed to maintain Pakistan’s pride and respect in the cricket
world,” Babar wrote in a statement.
“Reaching the No.1 spot in the white-ball format was a
result of the collective efforts of players, coaches, and management, but I’d
like to express my gratitude to passionate Pakistan cricket fans for their
unwavering support during this journey,” he added.
“Today, I’m stepping down as the captain of Pakistan
across all formats. It’s a difficult decision, but I feel it is the right time
for this call. I want to express my sincere thanks to the Pakistan Cricket
Board for entrusting me with this significant responsibility,” he stated.
During Babar’s stint, Pakistan went to the No. 1
position in ODIs. Babar Azam-led ended their disastrous campaign in the WC with
a debacle at the hands of England by 93 runs.
Babar had a dismal performance with Pakistan in the
ICC World Cup in Bharat, finishing fifth with eight points from nine matches.
On a personal level, Babar scored 320 runs in nine World Cup matches, the third
most for Pakistan, with an average of 40 and a strike rate of 82.90.
Pakistan suffered five defeats out of their nine
matches and one at the hands of arch-rival India by seven wickets.
In their last league match of the tournament, Men in
Green started proceedings knowing that they had the slimmest of chances of
still reaching the SFs, requiring a win by an enormous margin to force a
gargantuan swing on net run rate. And the possibility of such a result soon
disappeared as the 2019 champions England built towards a sizeable
first-innings score and registered a 93-run win.
Earlier this week, Morne Morkel resigned as the
bowling coach of the Pakistan Men’s team. The former South Africa fast bowler
joined the Pakistan team on a six-month contract in June this year.
ANI
