ISLAMABAD: Former Captain Rashid Latif has urged head coach Mickey Arthur to slow down with his statements about Pakistan Cricket saying he must first come and see the challenges he faces with the national team.
Earlier this month, Mickey Arthur had said that he will not tolerate indiscipline and selfish players in the team. He also said he will not let external forces dictate how he goes about doing his business. He said that Indian Premier League (IPL) exclusion is also hurting the performance of Pakistan in T20 cricket.
Rashid said there were too many statements from the new coach and he is speaking on every cricket issue related to Pakistan cricket.
“Mickey is an experienced international coach but he should slow down a bit with his statements and first come and see firsthand the challenges he faces with the Pakistan team,” Latif told a foreign news agency.
“There are lot of hopes from Mickey but he should not raise the expectations because he might not know this but Pakistani cricket fans and authorities can be very unforgiving if he can’t turn things around,” he said.
Rashid said he had always felt that a foreign coach who keeps a low profile is best suited for Pakistan cricket. “In the end the results matter nothing else matters,” he said.
Rashid said that Mickey was not the first choice for many cricket fans, critics and the media so he would really need to work hard to become a popular choice.
Former captain Rameez Raja also advised Arthur to be ready to face an entirely different cricket culture in Pakistan. “He is a solid experienced coach who has worked with two top teams and top players but he will really have to be innovative and firm to pick up the performances of the Pakistan team,” he said.
Rameez said the key would be to get rid of selfish players and encourage those who were courageous enough to play for the team not themselves.
He said that a perfect winning cricket culture had been missing from the Pakistan dressing room for sometime due to many reasons and this would be the biggest challenge for the new coach to change this culture.
Rameez also felt that for some time Pakistan team had been missing an inspirational leader who was not only a top performer but also good enough to motivate players.
He said identifying and grooming the right leader would be a prime responsibility for the new foreign coach.
