Mickey Arthur set to be next Lanka head coach: Report
The Sri Lankan men's cricket team is looking to overhaul its coaching staff with South African Mickey Arthur set to take over as the new national head coach. Arthur, who has previously coached South Africa, Australia and Pakistan, could be roped in as Lanka's head coach, ahead of their upcoming two-Test series in Pakistan. Here are further details.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Arthur is set to replace current coach Chandika Hathurusingha. Arthur is being offered a two-year contract. Apart from his selection, the new appointments include Grant Flower as batting coach, David Saker as bowling coach, and Shane McDermott as fielding coach. However, Flower will only be part of the white-ball set-up and won't travel to Pakistan.
Earlier in August, Arthur was removed as the head coach of Pakistan cricket team. The Pakistan board removed Arthur and his support staff, following the side's fifth-place finish at the ICC World Cup 2019 in England and Wales. Pakistan went on to rope in Misbah-ul-Haq as the head coach. Under Misbah, Pakistan won the ODIs against Sri Lanka. However, they lost the T20Is.
Arthur will be Sri Lanka's 11th coach in the last eight years. Flower was associated as the head coach of Bangladesh Premier League side Rangpur Rangers. Meanwhile, Saker, who has been involved with the likes of England and Australia, was bowling coach of USA.
Arthur took over the mantle in mid-2016. Under his tenure, Pakistan won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017. The team also grabbed the number one spot in the ICC's T20 Rankings. Pakistan's performance in Test cricket dipped drastically and in ODIs too they kept struggling. This meant that he had to go and the 2019 World Cup was a final nail in the coffin.
