Nobody is 100% safe in the ODI side: Mickey Arthur

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has issued a stern warning to the Pakistan team as he said that the underperforming players will face the threat of being axed from the side.

Pakistan lost the first ODI to England, as they were unable to put enough pressure on the opposition both with bat and ball. Arthur revealed that he would not hesitate to bring in youngsters in the ODI squad to bring an end to their bad run in the 50 overs format.

“I said to the players this morning that nobody’s safe. And if you’re over 30 you’ve got to be coming to the table more often than not, otherwise it’s an opportunity to blood some younger players. I’m telling no secrets, nobody is 100% safe in the ODI side and the guys know that. Everybody knows they’re on notice,” Arthur said.

“I’ve actually started, the other night, going through potential players in Pakistan who can fulfil roles we think we’re going to need to evolve. In the meantime, the 15 players we’ve got here, we’ve got to back, [and] give them the opportunity to stake their claim to be part of the Pakistan ODI squad going forward. We’re going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two’s time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or we’ll find somebody else who can step up, it’s as simple as that,” the 48-year-old added.

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Despite being ranked no.1 in Test cricket, it’s a different story altogether for the team in ODIs. Pakistan is ranked no.9, behind Bangladesh and West Indies. “Of course, it’s a concern, Pakistan cricket should never be down at No. 9 in the world,” Arthur said. “We need complete buy-in from the players, we have got to give them a lot of confidence and allow them to grow in the roles we’ve given them.”

In the first ODI, despite having two all-rounders at the crease they failed to take advantage of the last 5 overs and Arthur urged the team to express themselves.

“Everything I’ve heard was on view really,” he said. “We’ve had a real good chat about it and got some ideas about how we can put it right. I’ve said to the boys we’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. I want to see the guys go out and express themselves, play with a bit of freedom. Playing the way we played the other night, we’re behind the times.”

The second ODI will be played at the Lord’s cricket ground on 27th of August.