‘You played just 26 Tests whereas I played 40′ – Former Pakistan coach makes shocking revelations about Pakistani players’ behaviour

An ex-member of the Pakistan support staff has come out and criticised the players for disrespecting the authorities amid speculations that Mickey Arthur is about to join the team as the “online coach” of the team. The relationships between Pakistan’s players and coaches haven’t always been smooth sailing throughout the years.

While there have been times when coaches like Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Arthur himself haven’t always agreed with players and vice versa, the regularity with which these incidents have been made public raises questions.

Sikander Bakht, a former national selector and support staff member for the senior Pakistan men’s team, has commented on the subject and accused the players of treating their own coaches poorly in comparison to those who are from abroad.

Bakht remembered an event involving him and a cricketer that underlined the icy image of a coach in the eyes of a player in Pakistan and provided an explanation for why Pakistani coaches are constantly under pressure.

“I had once tried to tell a Pakistan player when I was involved with the Pakistan team. He said, ‘You have just played 26 Tests for Pakistan. I have played 40. You are trying to teach me? I am saying this on oath’. This is the approach of players,” Bakht told Geo News.

He told me that he prays every day that he is not given any role with PCB: Sikander Bakht

Do you think a cricketer can go and say something to Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Shadab Khan? The players behave well with foreign coaches. Take Mickey Arthur, he hasn’t played a single international game but he is good with man management. Because he’s a foreigner, they are scared of him,” he added.

A recent statement from the renowned Wasim Akram emphasizes this even more. When asked if Akram would ever take over as Pakistan’s head coach, the former captain answered emphatically “never,” noting that coaches in the nation face abuse in addition to criticism.

No Pakistani coach has ever had a longer term than, say, Ravi Shastri, Justin Langer, or even Rahul Dravid, according to history, and as Bakht noted, this is due to the players’ lack of respect or even just a simple acknowledgment of them.

“We have had a lot of coaches from Pakistan. Be it Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mohammad Yousuf – but they couldn’t handle it. I will take an example of a player without taking his name, who works with me on Geo,” he opined.

“He told me that he prays every day that he is not given any role with PCB. There are so many difficulties and pressure there that I pray in every Namaz that I won’t be given a job with PCB,” he concluded.