Having relinquished duties as head coach of Pakistan, Mickey Arthur said there were people he "trusted" in country's cricket set-up, who didn't quite live up to their words and betrayed him, ultimately leading to his ouster from position at the helm of affairs of the national side.
Arthur's contract wasn't renewed following the disappointing league-phase World Cup exit in UK as PCB cricket committee replaced him with former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, who will also double up as the chief selector.
"I guess the only disappointment I have out of the whole lot is that there were some people I really trusted who ultimately didn't follow through," Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. "I'm not talking about the hierarchy, I'm talking about people on the cricket committee that I did trust who sort of said one thing and ultimately did another. So that was the disappointing aspect of it."
Arthur, however, continues to be a well-wisher of Pakistan cricket and said with men of integrity and pedigree like Misbah around to shoulder the responsibility, things will definitely be on the right track.
But there certainly is a controversial twist to how things unfolded because it was Arthur at the first place who asked PCB chairman Ehsan Mani to form a cricket committee that shall ensure only right people are picked for the job of handling the team. And yet, he was the one left out.
"I said Misbah would be outstanding because he was a godfather of Pakistan cricket and he is - Misbah is an outstanding individual make no mistake about that."
"And I sort of said, I thought Wasim Akram would be good to get on the committee because I think Wasim just understands the international game so well. He carries a huge stature in international cricket," he added.
"Those were guys I endorsed and guys I really enjoyed. As I say, they had a job to do and they decided it was in the best interests of Pakistan cricket to go with a fresh set of eyes."
"And it just happened to be that Misbah was on the committee that didn't renew our contracts and becomes this heir-apparent."
"Ultimately Misbah will do a good job, Misbah is a good guy and Pakistan cricket made their decision. I was disappointed because I loved every second of that job," Arthur concluded.
(Inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
