Mickey Arthur reveals what he disliked the most during his stint as Pakistan’s head coach

Mickey Arthur, the former Pakistan head coach, said that he isn’t fond of cricketers, who prefer to stay in their comfort zones. Back in May 2016, Arthur was appointed in the role and he stayed with the Men in Green until the second half of 2019. Under the South African’s tutelage, Pakistan won the 2017 Champions Trophy and also climbed to the top spot in ICC’s rankings for T20I teams.

However, a rusty campaign in the 2019 World Cup meant that Arthur’s credentials were questioned. In the end, his tenure wasn’t extended as Misbah-ul-Haq became the head coach. The 51-year-old said that he mostly looked for match-winners during his stint in the Pakistan team.

Mickey Arthur opens up

“All I will say is that I liked players who could win games for Pakistan and were professional in all they did. I disliked players that sat in their comfort zones and felt Pakistan cricket owed them something,” Arthur was quoted as saying in Cricket Pakistan.

Arthur’s comments came after Mohammad Hafeez, the veteran all-rounder, accused him of ‘double standards and favouritism’. Arthur didn’t directly hit back at Hafeez, but made his points clear about what irked him when he was with the Pakistan side for more than three years.

“I think Mickey Arthur was the most powerful coach in Pakistan cricket history. Everything went according to what he wanted. I will admit that there were double standards and favouritism while he was coaching the side,” Hafeez had said.

Arthur is currently the head coach of the Sri Lanka national team, which recently lost a T20I series against the West Indies. After being sacked, Arthur also hit out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), saying that he didn’t get his due after wholeheartedly trying to develop cricket in the country. “I am extremely disappointed and hurt. I did my wholehearted effort to lift Pakistan cricket,” Arthur said.

Not only Hafeez, but a few other players have also expressed their displeasure over Arthur. In 2017, Umar Akmal, the discarded Pakistan batsman, said that Arthur abused him in front of the then chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and also debarred him from the National Cricket Academy (NCA).