KARACHI: Former chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has opened up on the controversial removal of Waqar Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq from the coaching staff ahead of the 2021 T20 World cup.
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Misbah and Waqar were employed by the PCB as the head coach and bowling coach respectively but were later released from their roles not long before the mega event.
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The two were replaced by Saqlain Mushtaq (head coach) and Abdul Razzaq (bowling coach). In a chat with private TV, Raja opened up on the ‘hard’ decision that he had to take.
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“They received their full payments for two years. They were given full respect. As a chairman, it was my right to dismiss them. Even now, they are talking about removing Saqlain Mushtaq and replacing him with Mickey Arthur. I made contracts in such a way that I didn’t want the board to be left with a coaching setup for three years,” he said.
“We had yearly contracts. They (Misbah and Waqar) would’ve left in January/February anyway. We brought a new management. It wasn’t easy for me. I’ve played with Waqar, I talked to him in detail.”
Ramiz Raja also revealed that he himself spoke to Waqar while the CEO had a word with Misbah over the decision. But, the PCB chief confirmed that it was a well-thought-out decision.
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“The CEO talked to Misbah. It obviously didn’t look good that the change took place with a week or 10 days before the T20 World Cup. But I had an idea that we could only go to a certain extent with them. “When I used to do commentary, I realized that a change was necessary,” said the former PCB chief.”
