The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to retain foreign coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn until the ICC World Cup 2023 amid rumors of their potential retrenchment. The decision comes after Misbah-ul-Haq, the newly appointed cricket committee chief and former Pakistan captain, expressed his opposition to foreign coaches but advised against sudden changes to the coaching staff. He acknowledged that even if past decisions by former PCB chief Najam Sethi were not ideal, it would be unwise to dismiss two coaches at once.
“I’m against foreign coaches but sacking coaches at once would be unwise,” he said.
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Mickey Arthur was appointed as “director” of the Pakistan cricket team in April and was entrusted with designing and overseeing strategies. He later brought in Grant Bradburn as the head coach for a two-year term. There were speculations that Misbah, who was not in favor of foreign coaches, might remove the coaching panel appointed by the previous administration after Zaka Ashraf took over as PCB chief.
However, it seems that Misbah has had a change of heart and now believes that the coaching staff should be given time to prove themselves. He said, “their performance will be judged after the World Cup.” Additionally, there were rumors of considering ex-chief secretary Punjab Naveed Akram Cheema as the team manager for the World Cup.
Cheema is known for his strict behavior and disciplinary actions during his previous stint as team manager. However, the current Pakistan cricket team does not have any players who would likely cause problems for the manager or the team administration.
“Good performance of the Pakistan team has also stopped the new management from taking extreme decisions.”
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