Karachi: Ramiz Raja has urged Pakistan to embrace an aggressive approach. While commenting, he termed Mishbah ul Haq as a “safe and sensible asset of the Pakistani cricket team.”
In an exclusive interview with the Dawn news, Ramiz Raja has acknowledged and appreciated the change in Pakistan Cricket Board has embraced. Raja stated, “the new structure of Pakistan Cricket Board will be beneficial to the team.”
Moreover, he said, “Misbah ul Haq was appointed because Pakistan did not have any other option. He is someone who has proven himself as a sensible and safe asset.”
Ramiz Raja emphasized on Pakistan to develop an aggressive approach by saying, “Pakistan needs to be aggressive while playing cricket, we can look at T20 as an example of aggressive cricketing, this approach will serve us well in 50-over games and test-matches.”
“Coming to Misbah as chief selector, it is an intriguing choice because giving complete powers to one person in our system can be tricky. It backfired in England when Ray Illingworth, who was the captain in the 1970s, was given the dual role.
“I think the only problem is that players in the dressing room would develop a fear of Misbah rather than having bonded with him as their coach. A player who he doesn’t think of much will have no chance but to face the situation during the three-year coaching/selection stint. Massive checks and balances would have to be put in place to see that such scenarios do not occur.”
“Lastly with the T20 World Cup looming in the background, I feel we need to find a T20 coach for Pakistan and not risk it with Misbah. He is young and new to the job and may not be able to manage so many formats and different group of players,” stated Ramiz.
