Hafeez to serve as Pakistan head coach for tour of Australia and New Zealand

Hafeez was also recently named as the director of the national men’s team, replacing Mickey Arthur.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is also likely to merge the roles of team director and head coach for three Test matches in Australia and five T20Is in New Zealand in December and January.

The decision to appoint Hafeez is slightly surprising since the former captain doesn’t have any coaching experience.

Pakistan team is set to leave for Australia on November 30, and play a warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval from December 6 to 9. The first Test will start in Perth on December 14.

Pakistan tour of Australia

First Test: December 14-18, Perth Stadium

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG

Third Test: January 3-7, SCG

Pakistan tour of New Zealand
12 Jan – 1st T20I, Auckland

14 Jan – 2nd T20I, Hamilton

17 Jan – 3rd T20I, Dunedin

19 Jan – 4th T20I, Christchurch

21 Jan – 5th T20I, Christchurch

It must be noted that the PCB on Wednesday announced the names of the new captains for T20I and Test formats after Babar Azam stepped down on the same day.

Left-handed batter Shan Masood has been named as the new Test captain while left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi will take the realm of the shorter format.

It must be noted that Azam stepped down from captaincy through a post on social media after the PCB offered him to keep Test captaincy. The 29-year-old refused and informed the board in the meeting that he is resigning from all formats.