Sohail Tanvir throws his weight behind Mickey Arthur, questions Inzamam

Sidelined left-arm fast bowler Sohail Tanvir backed new head coach Mickey Arthur to bring positive changes to the national side, however, he was perplexed at newly-elected chief selector Inzamamul Haq’s decision to drop him from the squad for the tour of England.

The 31-year-old praised the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to employ Arthur as the new head coach, under whom Tanvir has played for with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, Karachi Kings and the left-arm pacer lauded the level of composure Arthur exhibited while coaching the Karachi outfit.

“In Arthur, I saw a very cool-headed person who refused to press the panic-button even though things weren’t going so well for Karachi Kings,” he said. “Of course there was pressure on the players and the coach but he remained in control and carried out his work as normal. There was no overreaction, finger-pointing or attempts to blame individuals by Arthur.”

Speaking about Arthur’s past experience coaching national teams, the 31-year-old claimed that Pakistan is ‘lucky’ to have a coach with such a vast experience in international cricket. “Pakistan are lucky to have someone like Arthur who has some great experience in coaching teams likes Australia and South Africa,” he added. “He will be able to use this experience to assist the Pakistan players and work out plans to improve their performance.”

Tanvir also voiced his disapproval for not being selected for the upcoming tour of England by Inzamam. “To be honest, I am still unable to understand why the door was closed on me in the first place,” he said. “I was only playing in one format which is T20Is and in that I was the top wicket-taker for Pakistan in 2015,”he said.

The left-armer, however, hoped that things would improve for him once Inzamam gets time to settle down. “Inzamam has just taken over [as chief selector] and it will take some time for him to get used to what is happening around him,” he added. “I don’t think he has been following Pakistan cricket that closely as he had his own commitments with Afghanistan cricket, but I do hope that with the passage of time as Inzamam gets to know things better, the situation will improve for me personally.”