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Mickey Arthur’s negotiations with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) failed when the South African refused to accept the position of head coach. Now it is known that Arthur, a former coach, did not want to give up his full-time job at Derbyshire due to the instability in the Pakistan cricket system. He was in such a state that he was not even prepared to accept the position of consultant.

In a statement on Tuesday, PCB acknowledged that it had contact with Arthur. 

They have also spoken about a possibility to share time acting as a consultant to the PCB with Derbyshire due to his long-term commitment with Derbyshire. Sadly, though, this possibility is having trouble becoming a reality for a number of reasons on both sides.

The PCB desired that Arthur lead Babar Azam’s team into the 2025 Champions Trophy.

As also confirmed through a PCB statement. The Pakistan Cricket Board acknowledged that it has been in discussions with former national team head coach Mickey Arthur with a view to appointing him as the coach to lead the team to the ACC Asia Cup, ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

Since the current head coach Saqlain Mushtaq’s contract with the Pakistani team expires this month and the former spinner is unwilling to remain, the PCB is looking for a new coach. The recent change in the PCB’s leadership, which saw Najam Sethi succeed Ramiz Raja as chairperson, has left Pakistan in a state of unrest, which may be the cause of Arthur’s defiance.

Accordingly, the PCB will keep looking for the best candidate to fill the position of head coach of the national team, and some of the top names are already being taken into account, according to a statement from the PCB.

In 2016 and 2017, Arthur took over the Pakistani team and led them to the Champions Trophy victory, defeating Virat Kohli-led India in the final. Following Pakistan’s failure to advance to the round of 16 of the 2019 World Cup, which included a loss to India, he was replaced.