Pakistan cricket is in a very disappointing place: Mickey Arthur

Former Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has expressed his disappointment over the state of Pakistan cricket, saying that it is in a ‘very disappointing place’ at the moment. Pakistan cricket has only gone downhill in recent months. It all started with the Asia Cup when they failed to progress ahead of the Super 4 stage despite being one of the strongest contenders for the title.

It was followed by a disappointing campaign in the World Cup where they failed to advance to the semifinal once again after managing only 4 wins in 9 games. After the World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) made several changes to the team management, sacking the entire backroom staff while Babar Azam stepped down as the captain in all three formats.

While Mickey Arthur was sacked from his role as team director, Grant Bradburn was removed as the head coach. Mohammad Hafeez is currently serving as the team director as well as the head coach while Shaheen Afridi and Shan Masood are serving as the T20I and Test captains respectively.

Mickey Arthur on Pakistan cricket:

The change in captaincy and the backroom staff has not changed Pakistan’s fortunes on the field so far. After the World Cup, they toured Australia for a three-match Test series and ended up suffering a whitewash. The story did not change much during the five-match T20I series in New Zealand as they lost the first four games before winning the last one to avoid another whitewash.

Despite his unceremonious sacking by the PCB, Mickey Arthur has continued to follow Pakistan cricket but is not excited about how things are unfolding. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, the former Australia and South Africa head coach said that while Pakistan has a massive amount of talent, the existing support structure is not well suited for the players to flourish.

“I still followed Pakistan cricket and I’ll always follow it. But the vigor and thirst and passion I have for Pakistan cricket waned a little bit after that. To be brutally honest, I think Pakistan cricket is in a very disappointing place. There’s a massive amount of talent there, There are some world-class players, not just talented players. They’re not given the support structure that they need to flourish,” said Mickey Arthur.

“The one thing we had in 2019 and from the time we won the [2017] Champions Trophy to the end of it was an environment where the players were pushed. There was a lot demanded of them, but I backed every one of those boys 100%. So then they went out and played for the team instead of playing for them themselves.

“When there’s security within the environment, Pakistan is very good. When there’s that insecurity, players start playing for themselves instead of the team because they’re thinking of the next tour and the next contract. That’s a dangerous place to be in, and that’s kind of where Pakistan cricket is now. And that’s something that’s very disappointing and sad for me,” he added.

Pakistan players are currently busy plying their trades in different T20 leagues at the moment and will soon participate in the Pakistan Super League.