Former captain Shahid Afridi is not persuaded by Mickey Arthur’s appointment as the coach of Pakistan’s men’s team. He believes that Arthur must work at the grassroots level to offer the greatest instruction to the country’s budding players.
On Monday, January 30, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that Mickey Arthur will be joining the team shortly. According to media sources, the PCB may finalise the experienced coach’s contract in the coming weeks.
At the same time, it has been claimed that, although Mickey Arthur will be coaching the squad online for the time being, he is likely to join in person before the World Cup in India in October.
“The idea of a foreign coach instructing the national team online is beyond understanding; every period has the captain’s particular likes and dislikes to preserve Pakistan cricket. To give the greatest instruction to aspiring players, it would be vital to work at the grassroots level “Cricket Pakistan reported Afridi as saying.
Earlier, Sethi said that the Pakistan men’s team urgently required a foreign coach, and there was no better alternative than Mickey Arthur. After the completion of the Men in Green’s home bilateral series against New Zealand earlier this month, spin legend Saqlain Mushtaq stepped down as head coach.
Notably, Mickey previously coached Pakistan from 2016 to 2019, and during his tenure, the Men in Green won their first and only Champions Trophy in 2017 by defeating archrivals India. Aside from that, Pakistan has won 11 consecutive T20I series under his leadership.
The Babar Azam-led team is presently on a three-month vacation from international cricket and will return to play on April 13 in Karachi against New Zealand in the first T20I.
