"Unfortunate": Mohammad Hafeez on his stint as Pakistan’s director of cricket

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], April 26 (ANI): Former Pakistan director of cricket Mohammad Hafeez believes that the process of removing him from his post was "unfortunate".

In February, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its decision to remove Hafeez from his post just after two months of his appointment.

In the aftermath of the Men in Green’s 4-1 away T20I series defeat against New Zealand, Hafeez was at the receiving end of criticism for the performance that the Men in Green put on exhibition.

Hafeez opened up about his sacking and told Geo News, "The process of removing me as director of the cricket team was unfortunate. I am a qualified level-one coach. Coaching courses are an education but not complete eligibility to become a coach. We cannot ignore the experience of international cricket."Recently former chairman PCB Najam Sethi claimed that the local coaches make decisions that are based on their relations.

Hafeez expressed his disappointment with Sethi’s comments and stated that he has never witnessed local coaches promoting nepotism.

"I’m really disappointed with the statement of the former PCB chairman because such a statement has disappointed many former players. Pakistan has got legends of cricket which is admired by the rest of the world," Hafeez said.

"This is a slavish mindset of PCB that only a foreign coach should be appointed. I have never seen any local coach promoting nepotism or personal recommendations," Hafeez added.

Hafeez was appointed Director — Pakistan men’s cricket team in the aftermath of a disappointing ICC World Cup 2023 campaign. The side failed to make it to the semifinals and finished with just four wins. This saw several changes in the Pakistan leadership setup.

Pakistan are yet to appoint a team director and for their ongoing home T20I series against New Zealand, Azhar Mahmood has been appointed as the head coach of the team only for their current series.

Pakistan are currently trailing 2-1 in the series after the conclusion of the four matches. The hosts will look to level the series in the final T20I on Saturday. (ANI)