It looks like Mickey Arthur and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are on the brink of reaching a deal that will bring Arthur back to the Pakistan Men’s cricket team, but this time as the team director instead of the head coach. The talks between the two ended three weeks ago, but last week the interim head of the PCB, Najam Sethi, revealed that he was still pursuing Arthur. It seems that the deal is close to being finalized, with Arthur starting as the team director from April 1st.
This management structure is quite unusual, as Arthur won’t be with the team on every tour, but will have a group of handpicked support staff running the operations. The lead among the support staff is expected to be former Pakistan fielding coach and one-time head of the High Performance Centre, Grant Bradburn, who will be serving as a high-powered assistant coach. There will also be coaches for batting, bowling, and fielding, but no post of Head Coach.
During the English county season, Arthur won’t be hands-on with the team, but once the county season is over, he is expected to be with the team for high-profile events such as the ODI World Cup in India and the Test tour of Australia. The duration of the contract is still being worked out, but both sides believe Pakistan’s schedule allows for such an arrangement to work.
One of the most intriguing appointments under Arthur is likely to be Rehan-ul-Haq, the general manager at the PSL franchise Islamabad United and a prominent broadcast analyst. He is expected to be the team manager, but with a broader brief than the traditional administrative role of managers. This role might be more like a chief of staff for Arthur, driving the team environment. Rehan is credited with creating the data-driven approach at Islamabad United, which has won the PSL twice.
Arthur was head coach of the Pakistan team between 2016 and 2019, during which time he helped transform the team and led them to a Champions Trophy victory in 2017. He played a key role in the development of several players, including Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, and Shadab Khan. After his time with Pakistan, Arthur had a stint with Sri Lanka, and then joined Derbyshire. This return will reunite him with many of the players he had a hand in developing.
