Pakistan has had a difficult ODI World Cup 2023 campaign, and its Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur on Friday blamed some of the difficulty on increased security surrounding players, mostly confining them to hotel rooms.
Pakistan, who have lost four of their seven matches, must win their next two games, including the one against New Zealand here on Saturday, as well as pray for a few other results to go their way to make the semifinals.
Arthur said the players’ inability to socialize during such a long tournament has made a tough impact on them during the quadrennial showpiece.
“What has been tough is the fact that we’ve been under a massive amount of security. And to be fair, I found it difficult. It’s almost like we’ve been back in the COVID times, where you were almost secluded to your floor and your team room. So much so that their breakfast is in a separate room to everybody else,” he said during the pre-match press meet.
“Our boys are used to being on the road. But when they’re on the road, they’ve still been able to get out and have meals at different places, and get out on their own accord, and we haven’t been able to do this time. That’s been tough and stifling,” he added.
Pakistan will play New Zealand in Bengaluru on Saturday in a day match.
Guys Have Been Out Three Times: Mickey Arthur On Pakistan Team’s Difficulties
Given the history and diplomatic tensions between the two countries, strong security was expected for the Pakistan team in India. The hotels where the Pakistan contingent is staying are kept on high alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week to avoid any unexpected incidents.
Looking for some downtime? Last Sunday, Pakistan captain Babar Azam went on a lengthy drive in Kolkata. According to the South African, the crew attempted to build some exciting locations within the hotel rooms, but without the same impact as a real-time encounter with the outside world.
“It’s like Groundhog Day. You have breakfast and if it’s a non-training day, you’re back to your room. We’ve tried to have sort of little fun team events within our team room. But there’s only so much you can recreate. I think the guys have been out three times – we’ve managed to do that with security, get them out to a different restaurant, just to give them a little bit of a taste of the outside world,” he said.