Head coach Mickey Arthur warned of a “witch hunt” by the PCB after Pakistan slumped to their fourth straight defeat in World Cup 2023 against South Africa on October 27.

Pakistan haven’t played to their potential in the ongoing World Cup. They were already on the knife edge before coming into their fourth match with consecutive defeats versus India, Australia and Afghanistan.

The one-wicket loss to South Africa yesterday dented their chances further, as an early exit looms over their teetering campaign.

Mickey Arthur, who has stood beside the team through thick and thin, proved his allegiance again at the post-match press conference.

In the aftermath of their seven-wicket loss against India, Arthur had pointed out how the absence of their rallying anthem Dil Dil Pakistan on the field contributed to their failure.

He expected a backlash from the Pakistan Cricket Board after the humiliating defeats: “They (PCB) are going to be blaming everybody, don’t worry. It’s just the way of the world.”

At the same time, he deemed the possible knee-jerk reaction as “unfair” and backed under-fire skipper Babar Azam and the rest of the think tank: “It’s really unfair to start a witch hunt, certainly on Babar Azam, on Inzy (chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq), on our coaches, on the management team.

According to Arthur, the players and the support staff had left no stone unturned to prepare for the clashes: “What I do know is the boys have tried, and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class. If they would see the amount of effort that the players and staff put in, they would be amazed.”

Pakistan are now placed sixth on the points table with two victories and four defeats. Their net run rate reads -0.387. They are yet to play Bangladesh, New Zealand and England.

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