With a dual role with Derbyshire, Mickey Arthur is “eager” to restore relations with Pakistan
Before agreeing to a post as a consultant for the Pakistan men’s national team, Mickey Arthur is thrilled about the potential of rekindling his friendship with the PCB.
According to reports, Arthur, who led Pakistan from 2016 to 2019, has agreed to serve as team director, with the crucial condition that he can do it remotely. Now in the first year of a four-year contract he signed with the English county at the end of 2021, the South African is the head coach of Derbyshire.
The form of the deal, which will define how hands-on the 54-year-old Arthur must be while leading Derbyshire through the county season, is only one of the specifics of the agreement that are still being finalised.
Any bilateral series, including Pakistan’s visit to Sri Lanka in June and July, will not need him to travel with the country. He is expected to be present at the team’s training camp before the ODI World Cup in October.
In his discussions with the PCB, Arthur confirmed his dedication to Derbyshire. He is serious about finishing what he refers to as “a four-year project.” In December of last year, an offer for him to take over as Pakistan’s head coach in an outright capacity failed until further back-and-forth discussions led to a compromise of a consulting position for both parties.
“I’m very excited by that opportunity because Pakistan is very dear to me,”
“But Derbyshire is as well. That was one of the things that I kept saying to Najam Sethi, chairman of the PCB when he spoke to me – that Derbyshire was really important to me.
“I’ve got a four-year contract here and I’m only one year into a project. With my proposal and schedule I’ve put in place, I know that it is possible. But the nitty-gritties, we’re just going through at the minute.”
Although Grant Bradburn, Pakistan’s former fielding coach, is now expected to take that position, Arthur’s duties will be substantially different from those he handled as head coach.
Arthur will, however, be working with many of the same cricketers he managed earlier in his career. It will be a different experience for him to adjust to a new dynamic with people he helped create, including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Shadab Khan, but he is looking forward to it.
“I kept in touch with all those players anyway. I’ve seen them grow up in front of me. The challenge is when I had them they were young boys,”
he added, before joking:
“They’ve grown into men with egos now!”
“Managing them is going to be important, but I’ve got great relationships with all of them. I just can’t wait to put that all together. I know I can and it’s going to be quite an attractive package for both Derbyshire and Pakistan.”
Although the exact dates have not yet been decided, it is believed that Arthur would visit Lahore next month. Derbyshire starts their County Championship Division Two season at home on April 6 against Worcestershire, but they are not participating in the third-round matches.
The time period between the conclusion of Derbyshire’s Round 2 match against Leicestershire on April 16 and the beginning of their subsequent four-day match against Durham on April 27 is one that could be used for this visit.