“It is a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is preparing to re-establish links with former coach Mickey Arthur, but there is one catch, according to sources. While talks between the two parties did not result in Arthur becoming the head coach, as reported by the PCB last month, current developments indicate that the ex-cricketer will join the squad as the new team director. However, because he is unwilling to reject the long-term contract he signed with Derbyshire, Arthur’s services will be confined to online inputs. According to ESPNCricinfo, Arthur might start in the new capacity on April 1. According to the article, Arthur will not be with the team until the end of England’s county season, and will instead rely on a handpicked set of support workers to oversee the operations.
Former Pakistan cricketers, on the other hand, are dissatisfied with the development, with criticism coming from all directions. Former Pakistan captain and coach Misbah-ul-Haq have joined the chorus, calling the scenario a “slap on Pakistan’s cricket system. “It is a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach. It’s a shame that the best ones do not want to come, and we insist on having someone who is looking at Pakistan as a second option. I blame our own [cricketing] system, which is vulnerable enough with so many weak lines for anyone to exploit it. We are to blame ourselves because we have disrespected and discredited our own people to make a bad image,” said the former captain.
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The Pakistan cricket fan is always disgruntled; he is picking up things from the media and is under the wrong impression. Players speaking against each other with grudges and talking openly with disdain just devalues our community, and that becomes the common perception. Our cricket has been constantly under pressure with wavered and subjective opinions. The game is hardly a subject of objective and constructive discussion. Cricket is the most popular sport in the country but sadly never hits the headlines in the right way. It is chaos; former cricketers ridiculing their fellow cricketers on national channels with fans getting the wrong sense. There is no empathy, no respect, and no conducive environment in the cricketing quarter of our country,” Misbah concluded.
Arthur’s last tenure as head coach ended after his team finished sixth in the 2019 50-over World Cup. The PCB Cricket Committee had recommended that his contract not be renewed. Misbah was also a member of the committee and was one of the guys responsible for his release. Notably, Misbah succeeded Arthur as a coach and went on to have a large effect on Pakistan cricket by becoming the main selector as well. He resigned as coach in September 2021, with one year remaining on his contract. There has been much discussion in Pakistan regarding whether international or local coaches should be hired, and Misbah claimed that the PCB bureaucracy treated each coach differently, with local coaches facing more scrutiny.
