ICC World Cup 2023, IND vs PAK: It didn't seem like ICC event, it seemed like BCCI event, says Mickey Arthur on absence of Pakistan fans

ICC World Cup 2023 IND vs PAK Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur admitted that his team was timid in its approach and couldnt force the pace as the 100000 plus partisan crowd made a World Cup match feel like a bilateral game organised by the Indian cricket boardThe South African was clearly referring to Pakistan supporters not being given visas for the World Cup till date but when probed further he refrained from elaboratingAlso ReadICC World Cup 2023 IND vs PAK One bad match doesnt make me a bad bowler says Mohammed SirajAsked if the partisan crowd made an impact on players mindset Arthur saidLook Id be lying if I said it didnt It didnt seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest It seemed like a bilateral series it seemed like a BCCI event I didnt hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonightArthur however said that the lack of support in the crowd could not be used an excuse for the teams heavy loss to IndiaSo yes that does play a role but Im 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 he addedDil Dil Pakistan is a popular song sung by famous group Vital Signs fronted by late Junaid Jamshed It is like a second anthem that blares from loudspeakers at all ICC eventsOnce Arthur knew that he has opened a pandoras box by taking a dig at BCCI he was probed further by a few foreign journalistsShould that be allowed to happen at the World Cup Look I dont think I cant comment on that just yet I dont want to get fined Arthur said understanding that he has clearly overstepped the lineWhen a senior BCCI official was asked he gave a tongueincheek responseNo harm in playing Dil Dil Pakistan But do tell us when would it be played When Babar was bowled or Rizwan got dismissed Or when Rohit hit Shaheen for a six You can only play it for fans and there were no fansWrong approach tonightHowever Arthur did admit that Pakistan didnt play fearless cricket on the day We were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance I would have liked us to really take the game on just a little bit more Its a massive occasion as we know but I think we just went into our shells a little bit Both Babar and Rizwan didnt capitalise on their 82run standAnd to go from 155 for two if it was to 190odd all out is just not on Yeah credit to India I thought they bowled really well but I just thought our performance was just a little bit timidDoesnt he think that Babar and Rizwans batting style in ODI is a bit outdated Look theyre classy performers and theyve done it day in and day out for Pakistan over an extended period of time So Im not going to sit here and castigate them for thatArthur believes that Pakistan team is more confident when it takes the game deep in ODIs I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more It was a wicket that didnt turn massively and I thought we needed to put some pressure back But again they were building and building nicelyWeve got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat And weve had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end Thats been our style thats been our brand but we didnt play the Pakistan Way tonight and that was the disappointing aspect of it for meWe never spoke about 70 before the match80 is a scoreline that would break any Pakistani fans heart but Arthur revealed that this was never a topic of discussion within the team No look thats just spoken about by you guys The media just talk about that We approach every game thinking were going to win it We approach every game dotting the Rs crossing the Ts making sure our game is in placeTonight we were off our performance and as Ive said before that was the disappointing aspect for me We were off it but the record doesnt come into the equation he statedWith agency inputs