NZ vs PAK: Mickey Arthur Feels Not Playing In IPL Is A Disadvantage For Pakistan

Pakistan’s Director of Cricket, Mickey Arthur has said that the players are at a slight disadvantage with regards to playing in Indian conditions since they do not play in the IPL. The comment from him came in the pre-match press conference in Bengaluru ahead of their game against New Zealand on Saturday.

Pakistan need to win both their remaining matches against New Zealand and England and hope for a few other results to go their way if they want to make the semi-finals. So far they have won three and lost four out of the seven games played.

Pakistan started with back-to-back wins and then had a four-match losing streak before they won against Bangladesh. When asked about whether Pakistan players not playing in the IPL is a disadvantage, Mickey Arthur said that it was.

“No excuse, but it has been. And the interesting thing has been that every ground we’ve been to has been a new venue for our players, which is exciting. The players have really embraced that and they’ve enjoyed that fact because they’ve watched IPL on TV and they’ve seen test matches at iconic grounds like Eden Gardens, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai. So, for them to play it, it’s been really exciting for them,” Arthur said ahead of their match against New Zealand.

Also Read: NZ vs PAK: ‘They Have Nothing To Lose..’- Wasim Akram Wants Pakistan To Be Careful Of This One Team That Can End Their World Cup

Dont Think We Have Played To Our Full Potential Yet: Mickey Arthur

Arthur said that Pakistan have not played to their full potential in the tournament yet and that they played a near-perfect game against Bangladesh in Kolkata.

“Every game we go into, we want to win. And I’ll be brutally honest, I don’t think we’ve played to our full potential this tournament yet. I thought the Bangladesh game is the first game where we actually put a complete game together. We batted beautifully, bowled beautifully, and fielded beautifully, which in all the other games, we’ve done one or two disciplines OK, but our other disciplines let us down,” Arthur said.

“So, I’d like to say we’re peaking, but the preparation of the guys and the attitude of the guys’ will to get better every day, that has been exceptional. So, I can’t fault anybody in terms of that. But we found our best game against Bangladesh and I just hope that’s not too late for us,” the coach concluded on the matter.

The NZ vs PAK game is important for both teams. Currently, the Kiwis are placed fourth on the points table followed by Pakistan at fifth. Three consecutive losses for New Zealand have got their campaign into trouble. The team that wins this game will go a step closer to the semi-final berth. A loss for Pakistan might well end their campaign.

Also Read: NZ vs PAK: Babar Azam Unhappy After His Whatsapp Chats Leaked Online: Reports