Former Pakistan captain and ex-Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja tore into the national cricket board for appointing Mickey Arthur as Director of Cricket even as the South African continues to work with Derbyshire County Cricket Club.
Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday, April 20 confirmed the appointment of Mickey Arthur as the Director of Cricket, ending months long speculation over his return to the Pakistan cricket set-up. Arthur, however, will not be travelling with the team for all overseas and home assignments.
Mickey Arthur will be involved in designing, formulating and overseeing strategies for the senior men’s national team. The former Pakistan coach will serve as a member of Pakistan’s coaching staff only for this year’s Cricket World Cup in India and the home series against West Indies, tour of Australia and the Asia Cup.
Arthur was in charge of Pakistan from 2016 to 2019 when they won the 2017 Champions Trophy, beating India in the final, and became the world’s top-ranked T20 team.
“A first-of-its-kind coach/director of cricket picked to run Pakistan cricket remotely, whose loyalty is first with his county job than Pakistan cricket. This is as crazy as a clown in a village circus,” Ramiz Raja told Cricbuzz.
Arthur has been working with Derbyshire in County Championship and he recently extended his contract as head coach until 2025. Derbyshire Chief Executive Ryan Duckett said on Thursday that the county club will be Arthur’s fist preference while adding he was happy that the talented tactician attracted interest from elsewhere.
Mickey Arthur said he was excited about the role with Pakistan and added that he was keeping a track of the players in Pakistan even when he was away from the scene.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be rejoining the Pakistan cricket team and look forward to working with the group,” Arthur said. “Since moving on, I have kept a track of the players and their collective performances.
“This is a talented bunch with the potential to be number one across all formats and my endeavour is to put in place strategies and create an environment that can contribute in further enhancing their performances,” Arthur added.
