'It will be necessary to work at grassroots' - Shahid Afridi disapproves idea of appointing Mickey Arthur as Pakistan's online cricket coach

Former skipper Shahid Afridi is not convinced with the idea of appointing  Mickey Arthur as the online coach of Pakistan men’s team. He reckons that it will be very essential for Arthur to work at the grassroot levels and provide best training to the emerging cricketers of the country. 

The news regarding bringing Mickey Arthur on board soon was made by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday, January 30. According to reports, the PCB might finalise the veteran coach’s contract in the next couple of weeks.

At the same time, it has also been reported that while Mickey Arthur will be coaching the team online for now, he is expected to join personally before the World Cup in October that is scheduled to take place in India.

Every era has the personal likes and dislikes of the captain to sustain Pakistan cricket: Shahid Afridi

"The concept of online coaching by a foreign coach for the national team is beyond comprehension; every era has the personal likes and dislikes of the captain to sustain Pakistan cricket. It will be necessary to work at the grassroots to provide the best training to the budding players," Afridi was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Earlier, Sethi had made it clear that Pakistan men’s team needed a foreign coach at the moment and there was no better choice than Mickey Arthur. Spin legend Saqlain Mushtaq relinquished the head coach position after the conclusion of the Men in Green’s home bilateral series against New Zealand earlier this month.

Notably, Mickey had earlier guided Pakistan from 2016 to 2019 and under his coaching stint, the Men in Green went on win their first and only Champions Trophy in 2017 by getting the better of arch-rivals India.  Apart from that, Pakistan had also registered 11 straight T20I series victories under his guidance.

The Babar Azam-led side are currently on a three-month break from international cricket and will be back in action on April 13 when they host New Zealand in the first T20I in Karachi.

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