ISLAMABAD: Former head coach Mickey Arthur arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday. Arthur is anticipated to be named director of the Pakistan team.
Arthur will remain with the Pakistan men’s squad until April 20 before departing for England, where he is the Head of Cricket for Derbyshire, according to a statement issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
After taking up the position in 2016, Arthur had previously led the Pakistani team for three years. Pakistan also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017 when he was in office.
The team’s fifth-place finish in the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, however, led the cricket board to decide against renewing the contracts of Arthur and his support staff.
The PCB has previously acknowledged that it had been in talks with former head coach of the national team Arthur about becoming the team’s coach for the ACC Asia Cup, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, and ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
However, due to Arthur and Derbyshire’s extended contract, PCB also discussed a suggestion to split Arthur’s time serving as a consultant to the team with Derbyshire.
In order to represent the team at the 50-over ICC World Cup this year, Arthur has pledged the PCB that he will go to India. In the interim, he will continue to coach Derbyshire County Cricket Club full-time, thus he won’t be available for the English domestic season.
It should be recalled that Arthur signed a deal with English county team Derbyshire in December of last year that would keep him with the group through the conclusion of the 2025 season. He originally agreed to a two-year deal with the organisation in November 2021. He has previously served as the head coach of Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
The Pakistani team’s head coach for the current limited-overs series against New Zealand, which consists of five ODIs and as many T20Is, is Grant Bradburn.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had previously stated in a press release that “The PCB will announce the Pakistan team management for the post-New Zealand series following the completion of the relevant recruitment processes, which are currently ongoing.”
