Mickey Arthur claims that he was misquoted on Fawad Alam, Sohail Khan

Team Pakistan’s head coach Mickey Arthur has been in troubled waters for his remarks on out-of-favor Pakistan players Fawad Alam and Sohail Khan. Recently, there were reports about Arthur explaining why Fawad and Sohail are not in the team at the moment. Talking about Fawad, Arthur had reportedly conceded that the batsman should hit more boundaries. Speaking about Sohail,

Mickey Arthur mentioned that the bowler was a little too old to play in the modern day game. The comments were not received well, especially considering the fact that Fawad has been one of the most consistent batsmen in Pakistan’s domestic circuit in the recent times. Now, as per the quotes in scoreline.asia, Mickey Arthur has claimed that he has been misquoted by the media. He remarked that Sohail Khan is missing out on the national side because of the intense competition that is around.

“He [Sohail Khan] has been great in this regard however the competition for places is very intense, which is also great for Pakistan cricket at this point in time. We are looking for players who are great in the field as well as. That is an important aspect of the game,” quoted Mickey Arthur.

Push the boundaries

Explaining his comments on Fawad Alam, Arthur explained that he meant pushing the limits when he had spoken about the boundaries. He did not indicate at hitting more boundaries. He reiterated that his words have been misquoted by the media.

“I said Fawad needed to push the boundaries in terms of performance not hit more boundaries. Fawad came to the centre of excellence and we worked with him. Like everybody else, Fawad will also be considered for selection based on performance,” mentioned the Pakistani head coach.

“My comments were in fact positive and got lost in translation I am afraid,” Arthur concluded.