Mickey Arthur, the former team director of Pakistan, admitted that the 2023 World Cup match against India in Ahmedabad was one of the most difficult moments during his tenure, as he guided the team through a hostile environment.
The Men in Green were outclassed by seven wickets in that marquee fixture at the jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium.
After Pakistan failed to reach the semifinals of the quadrennial event last year, Arthur parted ways with the team and former all-rounder Mohammed Hafeez took over as his replacement.
"It was extremely tough not having any Pakistan support. The one thing that really drives the Pakistan team is the incredible support they receive at grounds and hotels. Here we never had that, and that was quite tough in a World Cup, particularly for the players," Arthur was quoted as saying by the 'Wisden.'
"As you can imagine it was a tough, hostile environment in Ahmedabad. But we were expecting this, and to their credit our players never moaned or complained once. They cracked on and tried their best - nevertheless it ultimately does play a role in motivation when you can't see or hear that support base around you," he added.
Pakistan's World Cup campaign was marred by off-field turbulence, including reports of dressing room conflict and a leaked WhatsApp chat involving the then-captain Babar Azam.
However, Arthur claimed that all of the outside noise had little impact on the team.
"The outside noise with Pakistan is incredible, you just have to check your Twitter feed to see so many fires that are ignited out there, that have absolutely no truth attached to them. You end up - and I found this out the first time - you're just constantly extinguishing those fires and chasing your tail. What we knew within our team was our game plan, and the defined roles that the players had, and we cracked on with it. There were unequivocally no massive disagreements with the players," he stated.
Arthur also opened up on his decision to work with the Pakistan team while holding on to his job with English county side Derbyshire.
"Anybody who knows me will also know that I will not commit 100 per cent if I can't do it. With Pakistan I was never an ‘online coach' as I put together the coaching staff, I was in constant contact with them every single day and knew exactly what was going on within the team."
Arthur also said that he accepted the job with Pakistan cricket because of his great relationship with former PCB chief Najam Sethi.
"I trust Najam Sethi implicitly. We have a very good relationship, and I went in to try and help him because I owe him a lot. He's the one who gave me my opportunity to return to international cricket after I had been sacked by Australia. He and I built up a good relationship. One of the reasons I returned was to specifically work with Najam again," he remarked.
(With PTI Inputs)
