Pakistan’s Former Coach Mickey Arthur named team Director, targets World Cup and top ICC ranking

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Thursday the appointment of their former head coach Mickey Arthur as the Director of the Pakistan men’s cricket team. According to a PCB statement, Arthur will be responsible for designing, formulating, and overseeing strategies for the Pakistan men’s squad. Having coached the team from 2016 to 2019, Arthur now takes on an expanded role for the side, including the development, implementation, and supervision of tactics.

“In this role, Arthur will be involved in designing, formulating and overseeing strategies behind the Pakistan men’s team,” PCB said in a statement.

The 54-year-old South African will also serve as a member of the coaching staff for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, the home series against the West Indies, and the away tour to Australia. Furthermore, he will be present for Pakistan’s matches against India in the ACC Asia Cup. During his previous tenure as head coach, Arthur led Pakistan to the top position in Tests and T20Is, as well as a victory in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017.

Rejoining the team ahead of key events such as the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Arthur expressed his excitement to work with the squad again. He emphasized the potential of the talented group and expressed his commitment to implementing strategies that will enhance their performance.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be rejoining the Pakistan cricket team and look forward to working with the group,” Arthur was quoted as saying by PCB.

“Since moving on, I have kept a track of the players and their collective performances. This is a talented bunch with the potential to be number one across all formats and my endeavor is to put in place strategies and create an environment that can contribute in further enhancing their performances so that we can extract the best out of them.” Mickey added.

Najam Sethi, Chair of the PCB Management Committee, welcomed Arthur back to the fold, highlighting his familiarity with the players, structure, and system in Pakistan. Since his departure from the coaching role in Pakistan, Arthur has coached Sri Lanka and later served as the head of cricket at Derbyshire. Sethi expressed confidence that Arthur would apply the lessons from his previous tenure to ensure an even more successful second term with the team.

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