As things stand, there is no formal arrangement between Arthur and PCB, an agreement in principle has been reached. It is also understood that as the team director, Arthur will not be with the Pakistan team all the time or travel with them but will only interact during important assignments. This is to ensure that Arthur can continue to work with Derbyshire on the English county circuit.
Arafat, now 40, has worked in coaching roles with Sussex in England and the Hong Kong men’s team, and recently completed the ECB’s Level 4 coaching course.
Although he played only 27 international games, across all formats, he has considerable experience in domestic cricket, playing 207 first-class games, 257 List A games and 226 T20Is in a career spanning two decades. Along the way he played in Scotland, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia apart from Pakistan. His last representative game for the MCC was a first-class affair against Nepal in Kirtipur in 2019.
The PCB has been trying to replace the coaching staff after overhauling both the administrative and cricketing levels late last year. Sean Tait was Pakistan’s last bowling coach, in a staff led by Saqlain Mushtaq. Their next series is against Afghanistan in Sharjah in late March and they will then tour New Zealand.
