London: Pakistan’s head coach Mickey Arthur has claimed that his team’s defeat to arch-rivals India had left him so shattered that he wanted to “commit suicide”.
Pakistan were incredibly hurt by the scathing reactions from the media, fans and former cricketers after their 89-run loss to India in Manchester on June 16. “Last Sunday I wanted to commit suicide,” Arthur was quoted as saying in the media here. “But it was, you know, it’s only one performance. It happens so quick. You lose a game; you lose another game; it’s a World Cup; media scrutiny; public expectation, and then you almost go into sort of survival mode. We’ve all been there,” he added. Pakistan won their next game against South Africa to keep a slim chance of entering the semifinals alive. If Pakistan win all their remaining three games and the results of other teams go in their favour, they can still make the cut. The 1992 winners face table-toppers New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in their next three matches. Arthur said he has asked his players to look forward to next games and give their best. “We always keep telling our players, it’s one performance. Who is going to stimulate us today?” Arthur said. (PTI)
