Arthur has ruined Pakistan cricket: Qadir

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Former leg-spinner Abdul Qadir has said that the current Men in Green Head Coach Mickey Arthur has ruined Pakistan cricket.

While talking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, Qadir said that Arthur made the mistake of dropping many talented Pakistan cricketers.  

“Mickey Arthur has ruined Pakistan cricket,” said Qadir. “He dropped the likes of Ahmed Shehzad, Sami Aslam, Salman Butt, Umar Akmal, Sohail Khan and many others. These were the players had the experience, and performances under their belt, to carry Pakistan team forward.”

He added: “Even if there were disciplinary issues with these players, it’s the PCB’s responsibility to form a code of conduct and warn these players, inorder to avoid such incidents from happening in the future.”

Qadir was also disappointed with the reaction to Pakistan team’s performance, after they were knocked out of the ongoing 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in England and Wales before the knockout stage.

“It is unfortunate to see the reaction of Pakistan players and PCB despite their poor performance in the 2019 World Cup,” he said. “If they think that winning the last four matches of their campaign was an achievement that I have to say that they are totally wrong.”

He added: “Pakistan won against weaker sides of the tournament in the second half of the World Cup. South Africa was already going through a bad patch while the win against Afghanistan was solely due to prayers of the nation.”

He also questioned team’s planning for the mega event and especially the selection of the squad.

“The team did not plan accordingly for the mega event,” he said. “We did not know our team combination, heading into the World Cup, which was evident from the late inclusions of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz. Interestingly both ended as our top bowlers of the tournament.”

Speaking about the presence of Chief Selector Inzamamul Haq’s in England during the World Cup and his involvement in team selection, Qadir said:  “I fail to understand why PCB can’t assert its authority. Inzamam’s responsibility was solely to select the squad before the tournament while he should have not played any role in the tour selection committee. Also Arthur and Sarfaraz were unhappy with Inzamam’s presence in England, which is why it would have been better to give the Chief Selector a shut-up call and sideline him.”

The 63-year-old was also against the removal of Sarfaraz Ahmed from the captaincy role of the side.

“The entire coaching staff should be removed but not Sarfaraz Ahmed because he is a fighter and has done well for us in the past. He has been groomed as captain since his early playing days and there is no point in removing him. He also won the Champions Trophy for us and so he should not be removed from his role on one bad result,” he said.

Qadir also spoke about the need for accountability within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“There should be across the board accountability within the PCB as the official who have been associated with the board, during the past 15-20 years, should be made answerable for what they have done,” he said. “Also Mani should not shift the burden of responsibility on Managing Director Wasim Khan giving him all the power.”