Ahmedabad
Former Pakistan cricketers have slammed Mickey Arthur, the director of cricket, for his rather bizarre excuses after humiliating defeat against India at the World Cup. Arthur's comments in the aftermath of the defeat left everyone surprised with a section of former players suggesting the team director to address the real issues, instead of focusing on superficial ones.
Wasim Akram, one of the greatest players to have ever played the sport for Pakistan said he did not want to hear 'random stuff' from Arthur.
“What did you plan against Kuldeep Yadav? That's what we want to hear, not this random stuff. You can't get away from this,” Akram told Arthur during a show on Pakistan's national channel A Sports.
Moin Khan, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper stated that Arthur should be talking about the areas for which he was hired.
“He's diverting attention. People are disheartened, and you are saying such emotional things. They should discuss things that they are appointed for, rather than such things. I understand it's an ICC event. But as a coach, you shouldn't really be saying such things,” said Moin.
Meanwhile, Shoaib Malik said Pakistan should instead focus on what India did right and praise them for outplaying Pakistan.
“I think we should rather praise them. If there's an event in our country, we should also utilise our home conditions like this,” Malik said.
What did Arthur say?
Fresh after the loss, Arthur said the blur of blue at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad felt like playing at a BCCI event, instead of an ICC event.
"It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) event," said Arthur.
Arthur accused the stadium's public address system organisers of favouring India by refusing to play "Dil Dil Pakistan", the nation's unofficial anthem.
"I didn't hear 'Dil Dil Pakistan' ('My heart is Pakistan') coming through too often tonight. So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse."
Arthur, however, signed off by admitting that Pakistan's 'timid' playing style was perhaps the reason for the side's downfall.
"I thought we were a little bit timid. I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more," said Arthur.
"I think we've got to realise that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end but we couldn't do that," added the former Pakistan coach.
(With inputs from agencies)
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