Pakistan’s team director Mickey Arthur, under fire over his team’s embarrassing show against India in the Cricket World Cup 2023 match on Saturday, left a few scratching their heads with his comments in the press conference after the match. Arthur’s remark suggesting that the India vs Pakistan clash in Ahmedabad seemed like a BCCI event over ICC as he didn’t hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ enough in the stadium didn’t go down well with fans and a few former cricketers.
Wasim Akram, a legend of the game, took a swipe at Arthur, suggesting he should be talking more about what Pakistan’s plans for the match were than diverting attention with such comments. In a chat on A-Sports, Akram fumed at Arthur, asking what his plan was for his batters to face the mystery spinner Kuldeep Yadav. For Akram, the comments Arthur made didn’t make any sense.
“Bhaiya hame ye batao aap logo ne kya plan kiya tha? (Brother, tell me what was the plan?) Kuldeep Yadav ko kaese khelna hai? (How did you prepare to play Kuldeep Yadav?) That’s what we want to hear. Not this random stuff. You think you can get away with this. No, you can’t, unfortunately,” he said.
Wasim Akram’s former teammate Moin Khan also echoed his sentiments, saying Arthur is only trying to divert attention. For Moin, the BCCI should be praised for organising the event in a manner in a way that helped them make the most of the ‘home advantage’.
“(He) diverting attention. A lot of people are disheartened and you’re making them emotional. I think he should discuss what is his job as a professional rather than showing a new path. As a coach, he shouldn’t have said that.”
“We should praise them (BCCI or making the most of the home crowd). Hamare yahan event ho so ham bhi isi tarah utilize karen. (If we host such events, we should also utilize them). We should learn from them.”
