Major blow to Pakistan's director of cricket Mohammad Hafeez as country's sports ministry orders PCB to take huge step

The Ministry of Sports in Pakistan has recently advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to hold off on finalising a long-term contract with Mohammad Hafeez, who currently holds the position of the cricket team's director, according to a report in PTI. Hafeez assumed this role following the ODI World Cup last year.

The PCB, as part of its procedure, had forwarded the contract draft to the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination for its approval. This ministry is responsible for overseeing sports-related activities in the country.

"The contract was for a long term period but the board was told to just continue with the short-term arrangement with Hafeez which ends after the T20 series in New Zealand," PTI quoted a source.

Sources reveal that Hafeez, along with other newly appointed coaching staff, had joined the team with the understanding that they would receive long-term contracts. Hafeez's appointment as the team's director coincided with the recruitment of several new coaches, including Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, and international coaches Simon Helmot and Adam Hollioake for the tour of Australia.

"Now it appears (that) this is not going to happen, and as it is, the performance of the team has also been very bad under Hafeez and the other coaches, as they have lost all Tests in Australia and now the T20I series in New Zealand," the source told PTI.

Subsequently, Yasir Arafat, another former player from Pakistan, replaced Helmot as the high-performance coach for the T20Is in New Zealand.

This reshuffling of the coaching team occurred after the PCB decided to reassign previous foreign coaches Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick to roles at the National Cricket Academy following the World Cup. However, all three coaches declined the new positions and took leave. They have since resigned from their posts after reaching a confidential financial agreement with the PCB.

Moreover, the sports ministry has also recently intervened in PCB’s operations, halting the cricket management committee's plans to organize a T10 league. Additionally, the ministry has put a stop to a meeting intended for forming the new board of governors. These actions by the sports ministry indicate a significant level of oversight and involvement in the administrative and operational aspects of cricket in Pakistan.

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