Hiring Arthur not a mistake, says PCB Chairman Shaharyar

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has dismissed suggestions that it has made a mistake by hiring South African Mickey Arthur, who had levelled match fixing allegations against the Pakistani players some years back, as head coach of the national team.

“Mickey Arthur has already clarified to us about that statement he made some years ago. So it is a dead issue now. He was coach with the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League, so he knows the players well. He should be successful in his assignment,” Khan said. Arthur had clarified his position after the PCB sent him a three-page legal notice in November 2009 for stating in his biography that he suspected the one-day international match between Pakistan and South in Lahore in 2007 was fixed. 

He was the coach of the South African team on that tour to Pakistan. He later denied saying that the ODI in 2007 was fixed and added his comments were taken out of context. “There is absolutely no foundation to this story whatsoever. Quite simply, my comments were taken completely out of context and I have never accused anybody of anything illegal,” Arthur had said in statement in 2009. Shaharyar said Arthur had worked in the subcontinent and should be able to settle down in Pakistan cricket.

  “The past is past. We now must look ahead and hope for good results. What Arthur said some years ago is no longer a problem or issue now,” said the PCB chief.