Pakistan’s marquee October 15 clash against arch-rival India in Ahmedabad may be huge from the perspective of fans on both sides of the border, but it’s certainly not the “all and the end” from a cricket point of view, believes team director and head coach Mickey Arthur . Arthur understands the hype around the clash, but for him it will be like any other game where you win or lose two points.
“I don’t think Pakistan and India will be the whole World Cup,” Arthur told Pakistan’s ‘Cricket Baaz’ YouTube channel.
“From a fan’s perspective, from the point of view of the emotions and relations between the two countries, one can understand the interest it generates and the emotions that come with it. But from a cricket point of view, I think it’s about doing well against everyone .” teams if you want to win the World Cup,” the South African added.
Arthur intended to downplay the pressure quotient and has in fact already started the mind games where he claimed pressure would be put on India.
“The expectations of the Indian team will be very high during the World Cup. They are a good side and how well they perform will depend on their ability to cope with the pressure of playing at home,” he said.
Arthur said he was also looking forward to the match but to see how Pakistan can handle the pressure.
The Australian coach also insisted that the Pakistani team management had not insisted that their game against Afghanistan be played in Bengaluru at Chennai.
“Yes, we had a discussion about it, but it was just a discussion. It wasn’t like our entire plans depended on Afghanistan not playing in Chennai. Look, every team would want to play Afghanistan in a different venue.” He admitted that the impression created by the news that Pakistan had asked for a change of venues against Afghanistan and Australia did not go down well and gave a negative feeling about the Pakistan team.
Arthur, who has previously coached the Pakistan team between 2016 and 2019, also confirmed that he had told the former PCB chairman that he wanted Babar Azam as captain.
When asked if he had taken a stand for Babar when rumors circulated that former PCB chairman Najam Sethi and some people around him wanted a change of captaincy, Arthur confirmed that he had spoken to Sethi and said that Babar was developed well as a leader.
“Babar is a matter of pride for me. The way he has developed as a world class batsman and matured as a leader. Our whole new philosophy of playing cricket the ‘The Pakistani Way’ revolves around Babar. He is totally in sync with me and the rest of the management that this is how we should play our cricket now.” Arthur explained “The Pakistani Way” and said it was all about playing as a unit and believing in yourself.
“It’s about everyone knowing that I and the rest of the management fully support Babar in whatever decision he makes and that everyone is there to look out for each other.
“And of course it’s also about giving it your all and not retreating on the pitch. Pakistan has immense talent and on its day it can beat any team anywhere,” Arthur concluded.
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