‘A slap on Pakistan cricket’: Misbah slams PCB for Mickey Arthur as ‘online coach’

Dubai: Former Pakistan head coach Misbah ul Haq has slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appointing Mickey Arthur as an online coach and termed the move as “a slap on Pakistan cricket”.
“It’s a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo.
Arthur is likely to return to Pakistan as its team director following Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi’s arrival. Misbah blamed former Pakistan players for damaging the credibility of the system and making PCB look outside the home territory for coaching roles.
“It is 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 system, which is vulnerable enough with so many weak lines for anyone to exploit it. We are to be blamed ourselves that we have disrespected and discredited our own people to make a bad image. The present and former lot do not respect each other, with media and former players using their own YouTube channels for ratings, grossly hitting the credibility and value of our cricket which, as as result, gives an impression that we are not capable.”
“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,” he said.
“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.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will appoint Arthur’s assistant who will be in charge of the team on the ground in his absence.
Earlier, Arthur had expressed disappointment with Misbah ul Haq and said that Misbah and Akram were two people he had brought into the hierarchy of cricket administration in Pakistan only for them to not “follow through”.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Arthur said, “I guess the only disappointment I have out of the whole lot (being removed from the Pakistan job after the World Cup) is that there were some people I really trusted who ultimately didn’t follow through.”
Arthur said he had recommended Misbah and Akram’s names when a cricket committee was first being put together by PCB chairman Ehsan Mani. “I said Misbah would be outstanding because he was a godfather of Pakistan cricket – Misbah is an outstanding individual make no mistake about that,” Arthur said.
—Agencies

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