Pakistan players unhappy with team director Hafeez over long meetings and lectures: Report

Pakistan cricket team’s director Mohammed Hafeez is reportedly making a lot of players in the side “restless” and the major reason behind the simmering disquiet is his tendency to hold “long meetings and lectures”. According to media reports, some players, who were not named, are unhappy with the meetings held by Hafeez during the tour of Australia and now in New Zealand. “He holds very long meetings and gives long lectures and some of the players get restless because same things are repeated,” one media report said. Hafeez, a former Pakistan captain, was brought in as Director by the Chairman of the cricket management committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board before the Australian tour. He was among a host of changes made by Zaka Ashraf in the coaching and selection set-up after the World Cup. Media reports claim that the players are also unhappy with what they consider to be discrimination in the issuance of NOCs to play in foreign leagues. Reports here stated that a few players like Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi were granted NOCs for the International League T20 in the Emirates but when some others sought permission for the Bangladesh Premier League, the issuance was stalled by Hafeez. The board has given Hafeez the powers to decide on the NOCs to players for foreign leagues. Videos and pictures of Hafeez teaching keeping skills to Azam Khan, and giving batting tips and bowling points to the spinners have been doing the rounds on social media. It has led the cricket community to question if Hafeez is doing everything that the other coaches are supposed to be doing. The media reports said that even the foreign batting coach, Adam Hollioake, was a bit unsettled at the involvement of Hafeez in every aspect of the team’s functioning.