Srinagar: Former Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq has lashed out at Pakistan Cricket Board for setting for someone who is using Pakistan as second option as no other coach is interested on Pakistan job.
Mickey Arthur is likely to return to Pakistan as its team director following Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Najam Sethi’s arrival.
Pakistan’s talks with Arthur had failed earlier on three occasions, but PCB kept persisting. Arthur had previously coached the side from 2016 to 2019. It is understood that the board is close to agreeing to a deal with him as a team director, rather than a head coach.
“It is a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo.
“It is a shame that the best ones do not want to come and we insist on having someone who is looking at Pakistan as a second option”.
“I blame our own system, which is vulnerable enough with so many weak lines for anyone to exploit it. We are to be blamed ourselves that we have disrespected and discredited our own people to make a bad image. The present and former lot do not respect each other, with media and former players using their own YouTube channels for ratings, grossly hitting the credibility and value of our cricket which, as as result, gives an impression that we are not capable.”
“The Pakistan cricket fan is always disgruntled; he is picking up things from the media and is under the wrong impression. Players speaking against each other with grudges and talking openly with disdain just devalues our community, and that becomes the common perception. Our cricket has been constantly under pressure with wavered and subjective opinions. The game is hardly a subject of objective and constructive discussion.”
“Cricket is the most popular sport in the country but sadly never hits the headlines in the right way. It is chaos; former cricketers ridiculing their fellow cricketers on national channels with fans getting the wrong sense. There is no empathy, no respect, and no conducive environment in the cricketing quarter of our country,” Misbah concluded.