Pakistan should have a separate coach for shortest format: Ramiz Raja

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani Skipper Ramiz Raja believes that Pakistan team should have a separate coach for the shortest format of the game saying the Green-shirts needs a team director with modern thinking.

“If you start fearing defeats, you end up losing. I feel according to modern thinking, this team needs a team director. Until and unless you don't streamline the coaching system in U-19 team, the A team, the academies, the first-class team and the Pakistan team, until then the major issues will not be resolved,” Raja said in a YouTube video as quoted by cricketpakistan.com.pk.

“And I am talking about T20 cricket and take power-hitting for example. You can define roles such as T20 coaches and power-hitting experts much better. You can have Misbah ul Haq as the Test coach and have somebody else as the T20 coach,” he said.

The former cricketer also believed that that the national side should opt for coaches with short-term contracts according to the conditions in which a tour is being conducted.

“I feel we shouldn't have too many coaches on a permanent basis, they should be your horses for courses. If you have gone to South Africa, pick a local cricketer with knowledge of the local conditions and bring him to the team. This long-term basis backfires and we need to focus on short-term coaching stints and according to the tours,” he said.

Ramiz during a recent interview posted on Youtube also revealed three things that skipper Babar Azam must do in order to become a good leader.

“Babar can become a leader when he engages with the youngsters. He will only become a leader when he takes actions in accordance with long-term planning. We take one step forward and play two new players but also play four older players,” he said.

“He needs to understand that if he wants to become a good leader, he must, one, learn to take chances. Two, improve the selection, and three, observe how the modern leadership functions,” he said.

The former cricketer claimed that there was a lot of confusion because the roles were not clearly defined. “There is a lot of confusion because the roles are not defined. When you lose, there is a lot of chopping in the dressing room. We need to control the mood swings and everyone needs to understand the direction,” he said.