Disappointed to leave as I loved every second of being Pakistan coach, says Mickey Arthur
Mickey Arthur, now a former Pakistan coach, was dethroned from his job after Pakistan's world cup exit and former captain Misbah-ul-Haq became his successor. While Arthur has only spoken positively for Misbah, he is disappointed by the way the PCB's cricket committee broke his trust.
Arthur, who was appointed as coach of the Pakistan cricket team in 2016, had his fate sealed during a five-hour grilling session by the board's committee in early August, a month after the team failed to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Speaking about that review, which invited a lot of speculations, Arthur revealed that a part of it was unfair.
"I was certainly given a chance, I was certainly given a grilling, I was certainly asked a lot of questions," Arthur said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo. "The thing that disappointed me just a little bit out of that was that a lot of the questions I was being asked were questions that could be debated either way. So it was a matter of opinion."
Mickey Arthur revealed that he was disappointed that people he trusted in the PCB committee were the ones to break his trust and not extend his contract for the job he loved very much. In fact, it was Arthur who had suggested the names of Misbah-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram for the PCB committee and now the irony lies in the fact that it was Misbah who ended up succeeding Arthur as the coach.
"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. 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."
"I said Misbah would be outstanding because he was a godfather of Pakistan cricket and he is - Misbah is an outstanding individual make no mistake about that. And I sort of said, I thought Wasim Akram would be good to get on the committee because I think Wasim just understands the international game so well. He carries a huge stature in international cricket.
While Arthur believes that Misbah does a great job as coach, he didn't fail to express how much he will miss the job and his sheer love for the same.
"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. 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."
"I said Misbah would be outstanding [on the cricket committee] because he was a godfather of Pakistan cricket and he is"
While Arthur, whose stint as coach of Karachi Kings is still unclear, wants to get back to international coaching, but for now he will coach the Central Stags in New Zealand's Super Smash T20 later this year.