‘This has been massively mishandled’ – Ramiz Raja warns as PCB ropes in Mickey Arthur as online coach

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) under the guidance of Najam Sethi, were keen on roping in Mickey Arthur and they did, but in a different mode this time around. This is not the first time Arthur would be involved with Pakistan as he was the head coach of the national team between 2016 and 2018, the highlight of his career with Pakistan being the Champions Trophy in 2017. 

Ramiz Raja, the former chief of the PCB, opened up on Arthur returning as the online head coach and said that it is ego-driven rather than for the benefit of the Men in Green team. Sethi appointed former Pakistani head coach Haroon Rasheed as the chief of the new selection committee replacing Shahid Afridi. 

Several former cricketers, including Misbah-ul-Haq, voiced out on the issue and said that it is a slap on the Pakistan cricket system. Arthur will be the first of the kind when it comes to online coaching and fans questioned the PCB’s decision to go ahead with the former coach, despite the latter preferring Derbyshire over Pakistan. 

You are allowed to formulate your own strategy: Ramiz Raja

The decision had its own equal share of positive responses, although it did not go well with the former chief of the board. To add more, Raja feared that the decision to rope in Arthur as the online coach would backfire severely if not now but in the near future. The Pakistani team are in the mud after their dismal home outing against England and New Zealand, as they hope to turn things around ahead of the 50-over World Cup scheduled to take place later this year. 

“I think this has been massively mishandled because this concept won’t work. This is an ego-driven decision because they don’t want to accept what the previous board has done. You are allowed to formulate your own strategy, but that doesn’t mean that you belittle local coaches and stars,” Raja was quoted as saying on his YouTube channel. 

“I think this is futile and will massively backfire. I don’t know whether he has talked about this, but Babar Azam, despite being easygoing, has very strong views on certain things. I hope he was consulted before such a step was taken,” said the 60-year-old further.