Negative question on Haris Sohail irks Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur was the only South African at Lord’s on Sunday who was not unhappy with Pakistan’s emphatic 49-run win over the Proteas. The Pakistan head coach has been under tremendous pressure because of the team’s less-than-impressive performance over some months now. Till the game on Saturday, Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side had won only one of their 16 games while they lost 13 and two were washed out. The much-needed win over the Proteas gave the former champions another day to live in the world championship.

Pakistan’s victory was made easy by Haris Sohail’s 59-ball 89 (9x4s, 3X6s) that helped the Men in Green register a high total of 308 for 7. The 30-year-old left-hander, who played only his second match of the tournament, laid the foundation of strong Pakistani batting performance and was adjudged the man of the match. Pakistan though are still not out of danger and need to win their remaining three games to stay in the hunt for a semi-final berth. But the win at least gave people like Arthur some reason to rejoice.

However, the 51-year-old coach was not happy when confronted with the media over the ‘negative’ coverage of Pakistan. Speaking to reporters after the game, Arthur was told that Sohail looked exhausted after an hour of batting. It was also pointed out that the southpaw could not complete what would have been his third ton in ODIs. Sohail was the seventh wicket to fall for Pakistan in the penultimate ball of the innings.

“Good, splendid knock from Haris but one thing was visible, he stepped in after 30th over, after spending 60-70 minutes, last over he could not make century as well… he had 3 wickets in hand,” the reporter asked Arthur.

“In the last 3 overs…you made only 20 runs, what is the problem? He looked exhausted.”

‘Write something positive for a change!’

The Pakistan coach shot back at the reporter and asked him to write something positive for a change. “He got 89 off 59 balls today. Why are you always talking negatively about our players? That was one of his best innings I have seen. Better write something positive for a change. Please!,” he said.

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It may be mentioned here that the Pakistan cricket team came under severe criticism after their 89-run loss to India via DLS rule at Old Trafford a week ago. Conspiracy theories were floated saying there was division in the team and the captain commanded no respect. Even families of players like Shoaib Malik was dragged into controversies.