Mickey Arthur was Pakistan`s head coach from 2016 to 2019, a tenure that included a Champions Trophy Title in 2017 and during which Pakistan became the top-ranked T20I side in the World. They were not as successful in Test Cricket under Arthur, and a League-stage exit from the 2019 Cricket World Cup led to him being replaced as Head Coach by Former Pakistani Captain “Misbah-Ul-Haq”
Recently, Mickey Arthur was appointed as Pakistan`s new Team Director and will only be available to the team in a limited capacity over the next ten months but he will be involved in designing strategies remotely as he also fulfills his responsibilities as the Head Coach of Derbyshire. He won`t be available for most of the Asia Cup but will join the team for the World Cup in October-November. Mickey Arthur opened a new topic for discussion among the fans.
Statement:
In a recent press conference, The Director of the Pakistan Team emphasized the importance of prioritizing the team over individual achievements:
“It has to be team first before individuals. That is something I am very tough on. If we get all the players working for the team first, it is going to be so powerful. Those individual records will all be broken, but we need to have success as a team first,”
Arthur said while speaking to a foreign sports journalist.
Response to Accussations:
After being questioned regarding the Pakistani players being accused of focusing on personal milestones, the 55-year-old said that he is well aware of it. However, he is determined to prevent such sort of behavior from taking hold within the team:
“It is not something that jumps out of you. It is something I want to make sure that doesn’t happen. I am going to challenge the guys on putting the team first, on the brand of cricket, and on role clarity. 40 from 18 balls is far more valuable than 70 from 60 balls at the top, so we have to make sure that those little achievements down the order are recognized,”
he concluded.
