The sports ministry has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to grant a long-term contract to its current director of cricket, Mohammad Hafeez, who joined the roled following the ODI World Cup debacle last year.

Hafeez's stint as PCB director of cricket will end right after the conclusion of the T20I series against New Zealand. Pakistan have suffered three consecutive defeats in the series so far after facing a 3-0 whitewash in the Test series against Australia earlier this month.

The response has come after the PCB sent a copy of the contract for approval to the ministry of inter-provincial coordination, which looks after the sports-related matters in the country.

ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma Reacts After Heroic Win In Two Super Overs Spectacle, Says 'We Played Our Best' | Watch

“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 reliable source as saying.

As per the sources, Hafeez and others who recently joined PCB's support staff only accepted the roles after getting assurance of contract extension from the board.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli's Acrobatic Fielding Effort Finds Similarity With Jasprit Bumrah's Bowling Action, Netizens React 

“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,” an insider said.

After the ODI World Cup disappointing campaign in India, Pakistan roped in Hafeez along with new coaches Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Simon Helmot and Adam Hollioake for the Australian tour.

Another former Pakistan player, Yasir Arafat replaced Helmot as the high performance coach for the T20Is in New Zealand.

The new coaches came in after the PCB reassigned the foreign coaches Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn and Andrew Puttick to the National Cricket Academy after the World Cup.

All three refused to take up the new assignment and went on vacations. They have now resigned after an undisclosed financial deal with the PCB.

Recently, the sports ministry also stopped the board's cricket management committee from holding a T10 league and as well as a meeting to form the new board of governors.

(With PTI inputs)