Mickey Arthur Claims Narendra Modi Stadium's Environment As Utterly Hostile For Pakistan Cricket Team

Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur who was recently dismissed alongside other foreign coaches from his entourage by the Pakistan Cricket board, claimed that the atmosphere at the Narendra Modi stadium during the Cricket World Cup group stage match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan was extremely hostile for the visiting team as there was no support for the Men in Green.

Pakistan who were then led by Babar Azam had succumbed to the immense pressure inside the World’s largest cricket stadium which was filled with blue jerseys all over. There was no support for Pakistan whatsoever and it was something that Mickey Arthur considered to be extremely unfriendly and intimidating for any visiting team.

The Narendra Modi stadium had hosted 5 World Cup matches including the opening as well as the finale. England and New Zealand’s WC opener was followed by the Indo-Pak clash before England took on Australia and South Africa went head to head with Afghanistan.

The stadium was scarcely filled during Non-India matches but it was jam-packed when Rohit Sharma’s side were slated to play there. While the hosts won their first match over there against Pakistan by 7 wickets, it was the eventual champions Australia who got the better of India during the finale.

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But despite that factor, Mickey Arthur believes that it was tough for the Pakistani team to play a simple game of bat and ball at Ahmedabad. The entire team was playing in India for the first time and Arthur claimed that lack of support for the Green army had a huge role in the team losing without putting up a fight.

“It was very interesting, and the one thing that was forgotten with all the rhetoric was that our whole team had never played in India before, so every venue they went to was a new experience. We certainly wanted to remove that from their mindset, just for them to focus and play to their optimum – because ultimately, it’s a contest between bat and ball.” – Mickey Arthur said. 

“Our Players Never Complained Or Moaned For Once”, Mickey Arthur Takes Pride On The Pakistan Team

The contest between India and Pakistan was supposed to go down the wire but we had witnessed a total one-sided affair. The visitors were bowled out for just 191 in the 1st innings and the hosts in response chased down the total by the 31st over. While it was a fact that Pakistan had no support, Mickey Arthur claims that his players never complained or moaned for once for not having enough backing from their country.

“As you can imagine it was a tough hostile environment in Ahmedabad, but we were expecting this, and to their credit, our players never moaned or complained once, they cracked on and tried their best – nevertheless it ultimately does play a role in motivation when you can’t see or hear that support base around you.” – Mickey Arthur concluded. 

Meanwhile, the latest chapter between India and Pakistan will unfold in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and West Indies on June 9 in New York.

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