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Pakistan arrived to a warm welcome in Hyderabad despite earlier fears that the bitter political rivalry between the two neighbours could force a boycott of the tournament.
Only two of the 15-man squad have ever visited India before and Arthur believes this has contributed to the curiosity surrounding the 1992 champions.
Pakistan last competed in India at the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup.
"We've had a wonderful reception so far in India. I'm pretty sure we'll get that around our games as well," said Arthur on Thursday.
"I think there's a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket. They don't get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, they don't get to see them often.
"So, I think that's going to be part of the attraction."
Pakistan begin their World Cup campaign against rank outsiders Netherlands in Hyderabad on Friday.
However, Arthur refused to say if he believes cricket diplomacy may lead to a thaw in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
"Whatever happens outside, that's above my pay grade, I'm not qualified to talk about that," he said.
AFP
==
Full Transcript from ICC:
[Mickey Arthur:]
We're keeping everybody guessing. Within our squad there's a lot of clarity. The guys know exactly what's going on, but you'll get the full team at the toss.
[Reporter:]
Coach, how big is this World Cup and how big is the pressure to play in India?
[Mickey Arthur:]
First of all, the boys love being in India – they’ve embraced being here, which is fantastic. The pressure of a World Cup is always massive. But I think our boys are in a really good place and part of the attraction for me is it's a very similar squad to what we had in 2019 and it's almost unfinished business.
I felt in 2019 we were very, very close. These young boys have now become men. They've become very experienced. They've had another four years’ experience. And during those four years, we have the best win-loss ratio in ODIs. So, these guys are ready for everything that's thrown at them in this competition.
[Reporter:]
How is the wicket looking? How different is it from the warm up game?
[Mickey Arthur:]
It looks an incredibly good wicket. The facilities here in Hyderabad have been outstanding and the curators have done a great job. The wickets we had for the warm-up games were brilliant and this pitch looks no different. It looks a very, very good one.
[Reporter:]
You were talking about the win – loss ratio, but with the Pakistan team’s aggressive brand of cricket, firstly, how easy is it to get your peers to buy into something that is sort of a high-risk concept in such a high-stakes environment? And secondly, where do you see the success of this in ODIs as compared to Tests?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, first of all, I think we're a very, very good cricket team. And again, that was part of the attraction for me coming back because these were all young boys that I worked with who have become men and have become very, very good cricketers. It's a very good question around the brand of cricket, and that's something that we're trying to get through to our players. The players have embraced it. It's going to take a little bit of time, but I always say there's always two ways to skin a cat. I think our bowling attack is up there as one of the best and with runs on the board our bowlers can generally defend that. So, you watch the likes of England and Australia, et cetera, playing this brand of cricket. Our guys will follow that. There's no doubt about that. They're good enough to do that. But we're playing a brand that we call the Pakistan way. We're playing a brand that is very, very particular to Pakistan and suits our team dynamic. And that's a brand that we're going to hopefully win the World Cup with.
[Reporter:]
The form of the bowlers and also the opening batters is a worry. The form of the bowlers as well as the openers. Do you think it's a good chance for them to get into the groove against Netherlands in the first league match?
[Mickey Arthur:]
I think so – the form comes and goes.
The quality of the players that we have in those positions is undoubted. So, it's about making sure that those guys are in a great space technically, they're in a great space mentally, and then just hopefully that they click tomorrow and then from there the confidence just grows and grows and grows. So, I've got no worry around the skills of the players we have. The skills there are exceptional.
Some of them just need just a little bit more confidence and the performance, they’re all one performance away from a lot of confidence. So hopefully we get that one tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
My question is that is the Pakistan team more dependent on Babar and Rizwan in the batting line up?
[Mickey Arthur:]
No, no, no, we're definitely not. We've got some very, very fine players. Yes, Rizwan and Baba are exceptional players, but let's not forget that we've got Imam-ul-Haq, I think, in the top five ODI players at the moment.
Fakhar Zaman, we know is quality, we know that.
I think you guys will love watching Saud Shakeel bat. I think he's quality. And then, you know, Abdullah Shafiq and Salman Ali Agha are very, very good players. So yeah, they are very, very good players, but we are certainly not reliant on them. It would be nice if they kept on scoring as they are scoring at the minute. It takes a bit of pressure off everybody else. But we have some very, very fine players outside of those two as well.
[Reporter:]
Just wanted to question on Shadab Khan specifically, heading into a World Cup in the subcontinent, your spinners need to be in top form, which I think has not been the case and today in the practice sessions we saw Imam ul Haq having a long chat with Shadab as well what's the thought process behind in terms of getting the confidence up for him because both Nawaz and Shadab, you looked at the practice games also in the middle overs they have not been taking wickets and runs have been leaked. So, your thoughts on that?
[Mickey Arthur:]
That's a good question and I wholeheartedly back Shadab's ability. He's a wonderful cricketer. You look at his package of bowling, batting, fielding, he's exceptional. If we look at his bowling in isolation, he's just short of a little confidence. He hasn't lost his ability to turn the ball. His googly is still very, very good. He's one performance away from getting that confidence back and making sure that he has a real big influence on this World Cup. So, I'd like that to come tomorrow, but I'm not worried about Shadab because I know he's a quality, quality cricketer.
[Reporter:]
We've seen snippets on YouTube and social media about the bonding and the togetherness of this group. Can you just give us an insight into what the group has been up to off the field, away from training and when you haven't been playing the warm-up games to get the camaraderie going?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, they're a very close group because they've played together for so long. They know each other backwards. They're not only teammates, but they're generally friends as well. And I think that goes a long way to building that team spirit. I'll walk down the corridor of our hotel and at any given time there are groups of players sitting together talking, talking cricket, talking about life, having food together. That's something that is very, very nice to see. As I say, they are friends first and foremost and then team mates second, so it does help with the gelling of the team. They have been tight for a long period of time now. They have had an outing here in Hyderabad. They've really enjoyed going out for some dinner, they just enjoy each other's company. And that makes my heart very, very happy.
[Reporter:]
So, after 10 matches on 14th of this month in Ahmedabad, right, so which players you will be feeling as competitors from India to Pakistan, like playing style?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Who do we play on the 14th?
[Reporter:]
I mean like Indian players, who do you feel as competitors, who will give tight competition to Pakistan players from India?
[Mickey Arthur:]
I think first and foremost it's going to be an unbelievable spectacle. Those games are always exceptional. India are playing some fantastic cricket, but so are we. I just think it's going to be a great game. I can't wait for it, personally. Hopefully we've got two wins under the belt before we get to Ahmedabad, so we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. But it's one date in my diary that I can't wait for. I just think it's going to be a fantastic game.
[Reporter:]
Sir, after a very long time, Pakistan has come to India and we see a very rousing reception even at Hyderabad airport. Do you think that this World Cup and Pakistan participating in a tournament hosted by India will ease the tensions between the two countries in the days to come or years to come?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, I can't talk about how the governments interact or politically. What I can talk about is the respect that the players have for each other from both teams, because I've seen the respect that we've had.
We've had a wonderful reception so far in India. I'm pretty sure we'll get that around our games as well. I think there's a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket. They don't get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen, Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, they don't get to see them often. So, I think that's going to be part of the attraction. Whatever happens outside, that's above my pay grade, I'm not qualified to talk about that.
Only two of the 15-man squad have ever visited India before and Arthur believes this has contributed to the curiosity surrounding the 1992 champions.
Pakistan last competed in India at the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup.
"We've had a wonderful reception so far in India. I'm pretty sure we'll get that around our games as well," said Arthur on Thursday.
"I think there's a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket. They don't get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, they don't get to see them often.
"So, I think that's going to be part of the attraction."
Pakistan begin their World Cup campaign against rank outsiders Netherlands in Hyderabad on Friday.
However, Arthur refused to say if he believes cricket diplomacy may lead to a thaw in relations between New Delhi and Islamabad.
"Whatever happens outside, that's above my pay grade, I'm not qualified to talk about that," he said.
AFP
==
Full Transcript from ICC:
[Mickey Arthur:]
We're keeping everybody guessing. Within our squad there's a lot of clarity. The guys know exactly what's going on, but you'll get the full team at the toss.
[Reporter:]
Coach, how big is this World Cup and how big is the pressure to play in India?
[Mickey Arthur:]
First of all, the boys love being in India – they’ve embraced being here, which is fantastic. The pressure of a World Cup is always massive. But I think our boys are in a really good place and part of the attraction for me is it's a very similar squad to what we had in 2019 and it's almost unfinished business.
I felt in 2019 we were very, very close. These young boys have now become men. They've become very experienced. They've had another four years’ experience. And during those four years, we have the best win-loss ratio in ODIs. So, these guys are ready for everything that's thrown at them in this competition.
[Reporter:]
How is the wicket looking? How different is it from the warm up game?
[Mickey Arthur:]
It looks an incredibly good wicket. The facilities here in Hyderabad have been outstanding and the curators have done a great job. The wickets we had for the warm-up games were brilliant and this pitch looks no different. It looks a very, very good one.
[Reporter:]
You were talking about the win – loss ratio, but with the Pakistan team’s aggressive brand of cricket, firstly, how easy is it to get your peers to buy into something that is sort of a high-risk concept in such a high-stakes environment? And secondly, where do you see the success of this in ODIs as compared to Tests?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, first of all, I think we're a very, very good cricket team. And again, that was part of the attraction for me coming back because these were all young boys that I worked with who have become men and have become very, very good cricketers. It's a very good question around the brand of cricket, and that's something that we're trying to get through to our players. The players have embraced it. It's going to take a little bit of time, but I always say there's always two ways to skin a cat. I think our bowling attack is up there as one of the best and with runs on the board our bowlers can generally defend that. So, you watch the likes of England and Australia, et cetera, playing this brand of cricket. Our guys will follow that. There's no doubt about that. They're good enough to do that. But we're playing a brand that we call the Pakistan way. We're playing a brand that is very, very particular to Pakistan and suits our team dynamic. And that's a brand that we're going to hopefully win the World Cup with.
[Reporter:]
The form of the bowlers and also the opening batters is a worry. The form of the bowlers as well as the openers. Do you think it's a good chance for them to get into the groove against Netherlands in the first league match?
[Mickey Arthur:]
I think so – the form comes and goes.
The quality of the players that we have in those positions is undoubted. So, it's about making sure that those guys are in a great space technically, they're in a great space mentally, and then just hopefully that they click tomorrow and then from there the confidence just grows and grows and grows. So, I've got no worry around the skills of the players we have. The skills there are exceptional.
Some of them just need just a little bit more confidence and the performance, they’re all one performance away from a lot of confidence. So hopefully we get that one tomorrow.
[Reporter:]
My question is that is the Pakistan team more dependent on Babar and Rizwan in the batting line up?
[Mickey Arthur:]
No, no, no, we're definitely not. We've got some very, very fine players. Yes, Rizwan and Baba are exceptional players, but let's not forget that we've got Imam-ul-Haq, I think, in the top five ODI players at the moment.
Fakhar Zaman, we know is quality, we know that.
I think you guys will love watching Saud Shakeel bat. I think he's quality. And then, you know, Abdullah Shafiq and Salman Ali Agha are very, very good players. So yeah, they are very, very good players, but we are certainly not reliant on them. It would be nice if they kept on scoring as they are scoring at the minute. It takes a bit of pressure off everybody else. But we have some very, very fine players outside of those two as well.
[Reporter:]
Just wanted to question on Shadab Khan specifically, heading into a World Cup in the subcontinent, your spinners need to be in top form, which I think has not been the case and today in the practice sessions we saw Imam ul Haq having a long chat with Shadab as well what's the thought process behind in terms of getting the confidence up for him because both Nawaz and Shadab, you looked at the practice games also in the middle overs they have not been taking wickets and runs have been leaked. So, your thoughts on that?
[Mickey Arthur:]
That's a good question and I wholeheartedly back Shadab's ability. He's a wonderful cricketer. You look at his package of bowling, batting, fielding, he's exceptional. If we look at his bowling in isolation, he's just short of a little confidence. He hasn't lost his ability to turn the ball. His googly is still very, very good. He's one performance away from getting that confidence back and making sure that he has a real big influence on this World Cup. So, I'd like that to come tomorrow, but I'm not worried about Shadab because I know he's a quality, quality cricketer.
[Reporter:]
We've seen snippets on YouTube and social media about the bonding and the togetherness of this group. Can you just give us an insight into what the group has been up to off the field, away from training and when you haven't been playing the warm-up games to get the camaraderie going?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, they're a very close group because they've played together for so long. They know each other backwards. They're not only teammates, but they're generally friends as well. And I think that goes a long way to building that team spirit. I'll walk down the corridor of our hotel and at any given time there are groups of players sitting together talking, talking cricket, talking about life, having food together. That's something that is very, very nice to see. As I say, they are friends first and foremost and then team mates second, so it does help with the gelling of the team. They have been tight for a long period of time now. They have had an outing here in Hyderabad. They've really enjoyed going out for some dinner, they just enjoy each other's company. And that makes my heart very, very happy.
[Reporter:]
So, after 10 matches on 14th of this month in Ahmedabad, right, so which players you will be feeling as competitors from India to Pakistan, like playing style?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Who do we play on the 14th?
[Reporter:]
I mean like Indian players, who do you feel as competitors, who will give tight competition to Pakistan players from India?
[Mickey Arthur:]
I think first and foremost it's going to be an unbelievable spectacle. Those games are always exceptional. India are playing some fantastic cricket, but so are we. I just think it's going to be a great game. I can't wait for it, personally. Hopefully we've got two wins under the belt before we get to Ahmedabad, so we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. But it's one date in my diary that I can't wait for. I just think it's going to be a fantastic game.
[Reporter:]
Sir, after a very long time, Pakistan has come to India and we see a very rousing reception even at Hyderabad airport. Do you think that this World Cup and Pakistan participating in a tournament hosted by India will ease the tensions between the two countries in the days to come or years to come?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, I can't talk about how the governments interact or politically. What I can talk about is the respect that the players have for each other from both teams, because I've seen the respect that we've had.
We've had a wonderful reception so far in India. I'm pretty sure we'll get that around our games as well. I think there's a bit of a mystique. The Indian public loves cricket. They don't get to see the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen, Afridi, Mohammed Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, they don't get to see them often. So, I think that's going to be part of the attraction. Whatever happens outside, that's above my pay grade, I'm not qualified to talk about that.
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