Mickey Arthur Calls to Avoid a Witch Hunt Against Babar Azam & Coaching Staff
Pakistan has found itself in deep trouble in World Cup 2023, their chances to make it to the playoffs are only 7%. For Pakistan cricket team fans it is no less than a roller coaster ride that has caused them disappointment. However, Mickey Arthur has a different view over this matter.
Pakistan, led by captain Babar Azam, faced their fourth consecutive defeat, sparking concerns about their semi-final prospects. Yet, amidst the despair and disappointment, head coach Mickey Arthur has issued a stern warning against initiating a “witch hunt” targeting the captain and the team management.
Denting their semi-final hopes, Pakistan recently suffered a heart-wrenching one-wicket loss to an in-form South African team in a nail-biting contest in Chennai. This followed previous losses to arch-rivals India and Australia, which were hard pills to swallow for the 1992 World Cup champions.
However, the most shocking setback came when Pakistan slumped to an eight-wicket defeat against a lower-ranked Afghanistan side. The dream of a World Cup victory appeared to be slipping away.
Pakistan are Almost Out of World Cup 2023
Sitting in the sixth position, Pakistan is now faced with the grim prospect of an early exit from World Cup 2023 despite entering the campaign as one of the favorites. The burden of expectations, combined with their current performance, has led to calls for accountability, particularly targeting the captain and the team management.
Nonetheless, Mickey Arthur, a seasoned cricket coach who has seen both highs and lows with the Pakistan team, has chosen to stand firmly in defense of his captain and the management. “It’s really unfair to start a witch hunt, certainly on Babar Azam, on Inzi (chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq), on our coaches, on the management team,” Arthur told reporters.
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Despite the disappointments, Arthur highlights the tremendous efforts of the players and the coaching staff. He goes on to say, “What I do know is the boys have tried, and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class. If they would see the amount of effort that the players and staff put in, they would be amazed.”
A number of ex-Pakistani cricketers and pundits have raised their concerns about Babar Azam’s leadership. Babar in particular has struggled against spinners and pacers alike. Rizwan hasn’t played responsible cricket. As a captain, Babar has struggled to make correct and proactive decisions.
In the recent match against South Africa, Pakistan put up a competitive total of 270 runs, a sign that they still possess the talent and potential to turn their campaign around. They also displayed remarkable resilience with the ball, nearly snatching victory from the jaws of defeat before losing by just one wicket.
“Tonight is a totally different feeling in that dressing room to the Afghanistan game. The Afghanistan game was… we were average in all departments,” Arthur explained. “Tonight, we were OK with the bat, I thought we were very good with the ball. I’m really proud of those (players) because they fought right to the bitter end.”
Mickey Arthur is backing his team at the moment but against Afghanistan, he couldn’t hide his frustration over performance of his players who struggled to take wickets what was more embarassing was their fielding efforts, the main cause of their fall.
