Former India speedster S Sreesanth slammed Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur for his controversial remarks following his side's defeat to Team India in the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

 

Mickey Arthur kickstarted a massive row after alleging that the 2023 Cricket World Cup wasn't looking like an “ICC event” and it was more like a BCCI event instead.

 

Mickey Arthur's remarks came in the context of the heckling of Pakistani cricketers, including Muhammad Rizwan, with “Jai Shri Ram” chants during the Babar Azam-led side's clash with Team India in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

 

The crowd at the jam-packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera taunted Muhammad Rizwan with religious slogans after he lost his wicket for 49 to a sensational slower delivery from Jasprit Bumrah.

 

The Ahmedabad crowd's barbs directed at Muhammad Rizwan came in the backdrop of the Pakistani cricketer dedicating his Player of the Match award in the previous match to the people of Palestine.

 

Earlier this month, a surprise Hamas attack on Israel that killed over 1,400 citizens of the Jewish state prompted a severe retaliation from Tel Aviv, which has left over 3,000 Palestinians dead.

 

Plus, Muhammad Rizwan offered the Islamic prayer, Namaz, inside the stadium, and that too during an active game in the World Cup.

 

All this public display of religious fervor by Pakistan's wicketkeeper batter seemed to have angered the Indian public.

 

For years, India has borne the brunt of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism from across the border, and that's why New Delhi was quick to condemn the cross-border Hamas raid on Israel, calling it a “terrorist attack”.

 

In the Israel-Hamas conflict, two nations stand on the opposite ends of the spectrum, with India supporting the former while Pakistan backing the latter.  

 

Another angle to Pakistani players' jeering was that the fans of the Green Army mocked Indian cricketers following their team's victory in the Champions Trophy in England in 2017. The roles reversed this time as Team India admirers poked fun at Pakistani athletes.

 

Amid the situation, Mickey Arthur questioned the attitude of the Indian fans toward the Pakistan cricketers.

 

“Look, I'd be lying if I said it didn't. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear ‘Dil Dil Pakistan' coming through the microphones too often tonight,” Mickey Arthur said in the post-match press conference.

 

“So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight,” the Pakistan coach added.

 

Mickey Arthur's comments infuriated former cricketers in India and Pakistan, with S Sreesanth becoming the latest to fire back at him.

“Mickey Arthur said we'll meet in the final. I don’t think Pakistan can ever beat India in an ICC trophy or in any other event considering the team they have. Even our C team can beat Pakistan's main XI. Make an IPL XI of players who are not playing, even they can defeat the Pakistan team,” S Sreesanth told Sportskeeda.

 

“Pakistan cannot even dream of playing in such a big stadium. We gave them a chance, but if you play like that, you won’t get such chances again,” S Sreesanth elaborated. 

Before Sreesanth, the legendary Wasim Akram, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan, and ex-India openers Wasim Jaffer and Aakash Chopra criticized Mickey Arthur for his bizarre statement.

 

“Bhaiya hame ye batao aap logo ne kya plan kiya tha? (Brother, tell me what was the plan?) Kuldeep Yadav ko kaese khelna hai? (How did you prepare to play Kuldeep Yadav?) That's what we want to hear. Not this random stuff. You think you can get away with this. No, you can't, unfortunately,” the legendary Wasim Akram said in a chat on A-Sports.

 

Similar views were echoed by Wasim Akram's former teammate Moin Khan.

 

“(He) diverting attention. A lot of people are disheartened and you're making them emotional. I think he should discuss what is his job as a professional rather than showing a new path. As a coach, he shouldn't have said that,” Moin Khan noted.

 

“We should praise them (BCCI or making the most of the home crowd). Hamare yahan event ho so ham bhi isi tarah utilize karen. (If we host such events, we should also utilize them). We should learn from them,” he pointed out.

 

“I wondered why Pakistan lost home series vs both Aus and Eng, but thanks to Micky Arthur now I know it was because stadium DJ didn't play ‘Dil Dil Pakistan' enough and majority of fans were wearing blue jerseys,” ex-India opener Wasim Jaffer posted on X.

 

“DJ wale babu mera gana baja do…I mean seriously???? Did we hear Sri Lanka complain about the fact that the Hyderabad crowd was chanting ‘Pakistan Jeetega'?? I'll be genuinely surprised if the DJ at Narendra Modi Stadium played ‘Dil Dil Pakistan' even once today,” former India batter Aakash Chopra wrote on the microblogging platform.