Mickey Arthur has put his faith on the youngsters in the Pakistan team. (Source: Reuters file)The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to renew the contracts of head coach Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, batting coach Grant Flower and trainer Grant Luden. The Pakistan Cricket Committee recommended the change in the coaching setup to PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, the cricket board said in its announcement.
“I am thankful to the PCB Cricket Committee for submitting their recommendations following an exhaustive and detailed review process. The committee comprised of individuals who possess tremendous acumen, experience and knowledge. The unanimous recommendation of the Committee was that it was time for new leadership and a fresh approach. I am happy to accept their strong recommendations,”
“On behalf of the PCB, I want to sincerely thank Mickey Arthur, Grant Flower, Grant Luden and Azhar Mahmood for their hard work and unwavering commitment during their tenures with the national men’s team. We wish them every success in their future endeavours,” Mani said in a statement.
“The PCB remains committed to its fans and followers and we will do our utmost to ensure that we make decisions that continue to move Pakistan cricket forward in all formats,” he said.
📰 PCB to revamp national coaching set-up
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— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 7, 2019
The dismissal of Arthur comes after he reportedly recommended that Sarfaraz Ahmed be sacked from captaincy and sought two more years to deliver “remarkable results”.
According to a source, Arthur suggested to the members that Shadab Khan should replace Sarfaraz as captain in the limited-over formats while Babar Azam should be given the reins of the Test side.
“I need two more years with the Pakistan team and then I can deliver remarkable results,” Arthur is believed to have told the Committee, headed by PCB Managing Director Wasim Khan.
Arthur has been working as head coach with the Pakistan team since mid-2016. He has also applied for the position of head coach with the Sri Lankan Cricket Board.
Under him, Pakistan’s biggest gain was winning the ICC Champions Trophy two years back. The team became number one in ICC’s T20 rankings but performance in Test cricket dipped drastically, while it remained inconsistent in One-day format.
Pakistan were knocked out of World Cup 2019 in the league stage. The side were placed fifth on the points table with five wins out of nine, losing out on a semi-final spot to New Zealand on the basis of the net run rate of the two teams.
PCB will invite applications for the head coach positions trying to get things back on track before their tour of Australia in November for three T20Is and two Tests.
