Pakistan cricket team’s director Mickey Arthur has urged the public against launching any ‘witch hunt’ on the captain and also the think tank after their latest defeat in the ongoing World Cup 2023. The former head coach also believes that the effort put in by the team is not questionable. However, Pakistan faced their 4th consecutive loss in the 2023 World Cup, losing to South Africa on Friday at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. Pakistan then made 270 as South Africa crossed the line with 1 wicket and 16 balls to spare as well.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Arthur said as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo: “They’re going to be blaming everybody, don’t worry. It’s just the way of the world. It’s really unfair to start a witch-hunt, certainly on Babar Azam, on Inzi [chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq], on our coaches, on the management team. What I do know is the boys have tried and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class. If they would see that the amount of effort that the players and staff put in, they would be amazed.”

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However, Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel made fifties whereas Shadab Khan also scored a 36-ball 43 to lift Pakistan to 270 as well. While Pakistan reduced South Africa to 9 wickets down, they lacked the momentum in the middle overs. Arthur applauded his team’s bowling performance of the competition in Friday’s game but lamented their lack of form.

“Tonight, I thought was our best bowling performance of the competition. I thought we bowled really well, but I still thought we were under-par in terms of the runs that we had. We haven’t put the perfect game together yet. It hasn’t been for lack of effort, hasn’t been for lack of trying, but we just haven’t got enough players in form at the minute, particularly with the bat,” he concluded.