PCB Made A Mistake By Sacking Sarfaraz Ahmed And Mickey Arthur After 2019 WC: Rashid Latif

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif believes that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) committed a huge mistake by sacking the former captain-coach duo of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mickey Arthur.

Mickey Arthur was sacked by PCB after the 2019 World Cup where Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-finals due to a poor run rate.

Sarfaraz Ahmed, on the other hand, was not only removed as captain but he was also dumped out of the playing XI following a 0-3 drubbing in the T20I series against a second-string Sri Lankan team in September 2019.

Under Sarfaraz and Arthur, Pakistan not only won the 2017 Champions Trophy but also proceeded to dominate the No.1 T20I ranking spot for a considerable period of time.

Speaking to journalist Waheed Khan on his Youtube channel, Rashid Latif stated that Pakistan cricket was on an upward curve under Arthur and Sarfaraz and there was no reason but politics on the part of the PCB to get rid of them.

“Why was Mickey Arthur removed…what was the reason for his sacking? The team had done well under him and it was progressing well. Check the records and you can see but he was removed because of politics,” Rashid Latif said on the YouTube Cricket Baaz channel.

 

“I don’t blame Misbah-ul Haq”- Rashid Latif

Interestingly, current head coach Misbah-ul-Haq was a part of the committee that was formed to review the performance of the then coach, Mickey Arthur.

Arthur was soon sacked and Misbah was appointed head coach and chief selector. But Rashid Latif believes that it’s not Misbah but the PCB that should be blamed for appointing an inexperienced coach like him.

“I don’t blame Misbah-ul Haq, perhaps he didn’t want to be head coach. He was young and inexperienced as a coach so why appoint him? It is the PCB to be blamed for what has happened,” Latif said.

Speaking on Pakistan’s 0-3 defeat to England’s second fiddle team, Rashid Latif said that the result testified that a full-strength Pakistan team isn’t good enough to beat England’s bench strength.

“Today we have lost to a second-string England team badly in the One-Day series which means that our cricket is not good enough to even beat England’s bench strength,” he said.

He, however, is hoping that Pakistan will bounce back in the three-match T20I series against Eoin Morgan’s unit.

”Let’s just hope they can bounce back because we can’t afford any more setbacks,” he added.

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