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Mickey Arthur will not return to Pakistan Cricket as his talks with PCB failed to make headway. Both sides were in discussion for Arthur returning to the country for another stint as the head coach over the last few weeks.
As per ESPNCricinfo, PCB announced on Tuesday that Arthur's long-term commitment with Derbyshire meant that he could not take over as Pakistan's new head coach right away. Both sides had talks over a more loose, consultancy role but PCB said that proved "difficult to materialise for various reasons on both sides". PCB had said that they will continue their search for a new head coach as the contract of incumbent coach Saqlain Mushtaq will run out in February end. He has been the head coach of the side since September 2021 and under his tenure, Pakistan reached the semi-final and final of ICC T20 World Cups 2021 and 2022. But a bad home season, which saw them fail to win any Test led to immense scrutiny of his role. Saqlain's time as Pakistan's coach is effectively up as the new board regime under the leadership of Najam Sethi is under charge. Arthur's return to the side would have been popular as many of the current players blossomed during his first stint from 2016 to 2019. Arthur put his faith in current skipper Babar Azam, which proved to be vital in his rise as one of the world's leading batters. Some current key players like Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed flourished under Arthur's tenure. Pakistan also obtained some major success in terms of trophies and rankings as they won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and became number one T20I side with Arthur in charge. But a fifth-place finish in the ICC 2019 World Cup saw him being replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq, who was captain under Arthur's coaching. On December 27 last year, ESPNCricinfo reported that Sethi, in charge of the current administration, was in talks with Arthur over returning to his job as a head coach. Both sides tried hard to find a way for the South African to return, especially with a consultancy role. A schedule was also drawn out as to how such a role might work around Arthur's four-year deal with Derbyshire. The PCB said that "some top names are in consideration" as they continue their search for a head coach for the men's national side. (ANI)
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