Mickey Arthur has rejected the offer to return as head coach of the Pakistan men’s cricket team. He was approached for the high-profile job by the new PCB management committee, headed by Najam Sethi.
Notably, Arthur was Pakistan’s head coach between 2016 and 2019. During his tenure, the Men in Green won the 2017 Champions Trophy and also achieved the No. 1 position in the ICC T20I rankings.
However, Arthur lost his post after Pakistan failed to qualify for the semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2019 in England and Wales.
Arthur is currently serving the English county side Derbyshire as head coach and the PCB on Tuesday (January 10) confirmed that talks with the South African didn’t quite go in the right direction.
"Owing to his long-term contract with Derbyshire, we have also discussed a proposal to act as a consultant to the PCB on a time-sharing basis with Derbyshire. Unfortunately, however, this option is proving difficult to materialise for various reasons on both sides," the PCB was quoted as saying in a statement.
The Pakistan board was keen on having Mickey Arthur at the helm until the 2025 Champions Trophy.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board today confirmed it has been in talks with former national team head coach Mickey Arthur with a view to appointing him as the head coach to guide the side through to the ACC Asia Cup, ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025," the statement added.
"Under the circumstances, the PCB will continue its search for the right person to fit the slot of the national team head coach and some top names are already under consideration," the statement further said.
It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistan Cricket Board underwent a major administrative overhaul in December 2022, with Najam Sethi taking charge as chairman of the managing committee, replacing Ramiz Raja.
Subsequently, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi was named interim chief selector with fellow ex-cricketers Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum joining him in the panel.
