Mickey Arthur, the former Pakistan coach, lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, after the body decided to send seven players back from England following the team’s poor performance in the first two Tests of the three-match series. The side led by Babar Azam has been abysmal to say the least, with neither of the two Tests going into the fifth and final day. No one expected Pakistan to win the series, but everyone expected the passion and fight to be there.
But does Pakistan cricket ever work according to expectations? No one could have anticipated that the PCB would take such a drastic step of sending players and even the coaches back home. Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Test coach and bowling coach Umar Gul have also been ordered to leave England, and the unit will now be marshalled by the white-ball coach Mike Hesson.
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Arthur, who has held coaching positions with the Pakistan men’s team in the past, took to social media to slam the PCB for constantly tinkering with the team and failing to consider its morale.
“Absolutely ridiculous decisions by the PCB-this is the reason they are in the mess they are, because they constantly chop and change players, coaches and selectors, and there is no stability! Planning, stability and structure =Consistent performance,” Arthur wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
What did the PCB say?
Post the 194-run loss in the Lord’s Test against England, the PCB on Monday confirmed that seven players would head back home and be replaced by new blood.
The players include Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad. A total of seven replacements have been named, including five uncapped players at Test level and two capped players.
Among the players announced as replacements, batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have played eight and two Tests, respectively, while left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Arafat Minhas has represented Pakistan in three ODIs and four T20Is.
Pakistan lost the opening Test by an innings and 103 runs, while the second fixture saw them go down by 194 runs. The Babar-led unit is currently at the last spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
Updated Test squad for Birmingham Test: Babar Azam (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Razaullah, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.