The Indian Cricket Team completed a convincing victory over arch-rivals Pakistan at the ICC World Cup thereby making sure the streak would read 7-0 until 2023. Although the men in blue were the favorites to win the game, it was surprising that the Pakistan Cricket Team failed to give a decent challenge to the Indian team. Apart from Mohammed Amir, none of the Pakistani cricketers matched the level of performances that was exhibited by the Indian cricketers.
The next few days
Naturally, the winners of the 2017 Champions Trophy were lambasted for spoiling what could have been an exciting day for the fans of the game. This time around, the Pakistan team was shocked by the amount of criticism that was leveled against them by their own fans and former Pakistani Cricketers.
One member of the team who bore the brunt of the hatred apart from captain Sarfraz Ahmed was coach Mickey Arthur. Pakistan’s bad decision at the toss and a few blunders in the team selection were the few reasons why Mickey Arthur got the stick.
June 23rd, 2019.
Justifying their “unpredictable team” tag, the Pakistani cricketers did well on the field to hand South Africa their fifth loss of the tournament. Almost every department clicked and it was indeed a fine performance after a demoralizing loss.
Coach Mickey Arthur addressed the press conference after this game and took his time out to put the trollers of his team back to their seats. He also spoke about the atmosphere in the dressing room after the loss to India and it was here that he made a shocking revelation through his words. Mickey said,
“It happens so quickly, you lose a game, you lose another game, it’s a World Cup, the media scrutiny, public expectations, and then, you almost go into survival mode. I mean, we’ve all been there. Last Sunday, I wanted to commit suicide.”
Yes, cricket is a tough game and Pakistan deserved the criticism. However, at the end of the day, it is just a sport and it is baffling that Mickey Arthur thought about committing suicide after the game. Although it might have been an exaggeration, going by Arthur’s words, immense pressure might have been mounted on him to deliver the goods for his team.
At this point in time, everyone, especially the media must make sure that their words will have minimal impact on the mindset of the members of a team.
