I am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues, says Najam Sethi
\n LAHORE
\nMickey Arthur is set to return as Pakistan\u2019s head coach, Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Najam Sethi said on Monday.
\nFormer spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has decided against extending his coaching contracts with the cricket board, according to media reports, and Sethi is keen to bring back Arthur.
\n\u201cI am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues,\u201d Sethi told a news conference, where he also revealed that he has appointed former Test cricketer Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector, replacing former all-rounder Shahid Afridi who held the post on an interim basis
\n\u201cHopefully, we will very soon share the news that Mickey will be joining us and I\u2019d like him to build his own team of coaches once he is here.\u201d
\nFormer South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka coach Arthur was in charge of the Pakistan team between 2016 and 2019 when they won the 2017 Champions Trophy and became the top-ranked T20 team in the world.
\nThe Johannesburg-born 54-year-old currently has a long-term contract with Derbyshire.
\nACC meeting
\nDuring the presser, he further told the media that he will attend Asian Cricket Council (ACC)\u2019s next meeting in Bahrain and will put forward Pakistan\u2019s stance related to hosting Asia Cup later this year.
\n\u201cFinally, we have a date now to meet ACC officials. I will attend ACC\u2019s meeting on February 4 in Bahrain. I am not sure about our stance for now, I will decide it in the meeting keeping an eye on the situation,\u201d he said.
\nSethi was expected to meet ACC officials on his recent visit to Dubai for attending India-backed International League T20 (ILT20)\u2019s opening ceremony that took place on January 13. Reportedly, Sethi didn\u2019t get a chance to meet ACC officials on the sidelines.
\nFormer PCB chairman Ramiz Raja had stated that Pakistan won\u2019t go to India if they pull out from Asia Cup in Pakistan. The statement came after ACC president and BCCI\u2019s Secretary General Jay Shah claimed last year that India has already decided to not participate in the Asian event in Pakistan. Shah\u2019s statement wasn\u2019t confirmed by BCCI or ACC officially.
\nPakistan are scheduled to host Asia Cup for the first time after almost 14 years. The event will be based on 50-overs format keeping in mind ICC World Cup 2023 which is scheduled in India later this year.
\n\u2018Cases\u2019 on hold
\nSethi remarked that the cases of two to three cricketers, including Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz, are on hold and they all know why their cases are on hold.
\n\u201cFirst, they need to resolve all their outstanding issues. If they could not apologise for the cases and persist on being benched, then that\u2019s fine,\u201d he said.
\nSethi further said that the rehabilitation project has ceased because the team does not need it. \u201cWe do not need to pour extra millions of rupees into the facilities which are already available,\u201d he added.
\nThree members team has also been set up regarding the pitches. There would be a need for consultations regarding the separate teams, PCB\u2019s top official said noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues, says Najam Sethi LAHORE Mickey Arthur is set to return as Pakistan\u2019s head coach, Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Najam Sethi said on Monday. Former spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has decided against extending his coaching contracts with the cricket […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":309349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-309334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n