Reports: Wasim Akram played key role in removing Mickey Arthur as Pakistan coach

Pakistan sacked their head coach Mickey Arthur after having failed to reach the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup 2019, along with a number of other coaching staff members. The Men in Green have in fact not won a single ODI series in 2019 and lost some of them by big margins – 0-5 against Australia and 0-4 against England. They had a disastrous start to their World Cup campaign, losing to a low-ranked West Indies, and could not make the knock-outs despite a late surge.

It was certain that heads would roll after the debacle and the South African-born Arthur was shown the door after chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down. On Wednesday, a report carried by Pakistan’s Jang daily said that former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram was the driving force behind Arthur’s removal.

It may be mentioned here that Akram, who is a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Cricket Committee, had played a major role when Arthur was appointed in May 2016 following the stepping down of Waqar Younis.

A number of voices spoke against Mickey Arthur’s continuation

According to Jang, the 53-year-old legend was at the forefront of removing Arthur though he was not the only one to recommend the same. The Urdu publication also said that others like Misbah-ul-Haq, Urooj Mumtaz, Zakir Khan, and Mudassar Nazar also made arguments against continuing with Arthur though the most “solid” arguments reportedly came from the former sultan of swing.

PCB chairman Ehsan Mani had earlier taken a stand of extending Arthur’s contract but stepped back once the committee let its decision known, much to the former coach’s surprise.

Some said Misbah had potential gains in Arthur’s removal since he is now a front-runner to become Pakistan’s next coach. Former Australia batsman Dean Jones is also in the fray as is former West Indies captain Courtney Walsh and the PCB’s final decision over the next Pakistan coach will be known soon.

Apart from Arthur, the other coaching members who did not find their contracts renewed are Grant Flower (batting coach), Azhar Mahmood (bowling coach) and Grant Luden (strength and conditioning coach).

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