Exclusion from IPL affecting Pakistan's T20 prowess, says Mickey Arthur

South African says he took the head coach job because of the challenge it presents

Newly-appointed Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has said that the absence of Pakistani players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) is a big reason for the team’s downfall in the shortest format of the game.

“You learn a lot from franchise cricket tournaments and I think that could be playing a large role,” said Arthur. “Yes, it's probably right that not playing in the IPL could be affecting the performances of the Pakistan team in the twenty-over format.”

Earlier on Friday, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar also shared an iconic picture of him carrying Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan after a match-winning performance against Delhi Daredevils for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during the inaugural 2008 edition of IPL.

The right-arm pacer said he "really enjoyed" his time in the IPL. “Sad to see Pakistani players are not able to showcase their talent,” the caption read.

The first edition of the IPL included many Pakistanis such as Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Younus Khan, Umar Gul, Muhammad Asif, Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt.

However, the fluctuating relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals and security concerns has shut Pakistani players out of the tournament since 2008.

Meanwhile, Arthur also said that he took the Pakistan job because of the challenge that it presents.

“What appeals to me is the actual challenge of it,” said Arthur. “I think it's a massive challenge and I do enjoy challenges for my sins. I think this is a challenge that is right up there and one where I feel like I can really make a difference.”

The South African will have to work with Misbahul Haq as the Test captain, Azhar Ali in ODIs and Sarfraz Ahmed as the T20 leader, and he thinks it is going to make his job a little difficult.

“Yes, it does [make my job] a little bit [difficult] to be honest,” said Arthur. “We will assess that. I'll go in and have a look and discuss it with Inzamamul Haq and see what he thinks is the best way forward and we'll go from there.”

He said ideally two leaders are enough for three formats: “Ideally you want two captains as a maximum across the three formats. That's something we will look at, even if it's three different captains that can be fine. We will do whatever we think is best.”

Mickey Arthur was interviewed by PakPassion

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