Former Pakistan cricket head coach Mickey Arthur has expressed his disappointment over the way his tenure came to an end. According to details, Arthur said that he felt betrayed by members of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Cricket Committee, which included current head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq and former pacer Wasim Akram. “I guess the only disappointment I have out of the whole lot is that there were some people I really trusted who ultimately didn’t follow through,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo’s Stump Mic podcast. “I’m not talking about the hierarchy, I’m talking about people on the cricket committee that I did trust who sort of said one thing and ultimately did another. So that was the disappointing aspect of it.”
Despite the disappointing aspect of his departure, Arthur felt that Misbah is the right person to take Pakistan cricket forward. “Those were guys I endorsed and guys I really enjoyed. As I say, they had a job to do and they decided it was in the best interests of Pakistan cricket to go with a fresh set of eyes. And it just happened to be that Misbah was on the committee that didn’t renew our contracts and becomes this heir-apparent,” he said. “Ultimately Misbah will do a good job, Misbah is a good guy and Pakistan cricket made their decision. I was disappointed because I loved every second of that job.”
Arthur’s contract expired after the 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup, won by hosts England, but he had asked for a two-year extension. But Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ehsan Mani decided against renewing contract of Arthur and his coaching staff, which included assistants Grant Flower and Azhar Mahmood. Arthur joined Pakistan in May 2016, leading them to a drawn Test series with England that lifted them to the top of the rankings. Pakistan also won the Champions Trophy in England in June 2017, raising their stock in limited-overs cricket. However, Pakistan wilted in Tests in the last two years, losing 2-0 to Sri Lanka in the United Arab Emirates in 2017. In all, Pakistan won 10 out of 28 Tests under Arthur, losing 17 and drawing one. Pakistan also struggled in ODIs in the last two years. Under Arthur, Pakistan won 29 of 66 ODIs, losing 34 with three no-results.