Raja reveals reasons behind shakeup of Pakistan cricket coaching staff

Former Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Ramiz Raja has revealed the reasoning behind the controversial removal of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis from the coaching staff before the start of the T20 World Cup 2021.

 In an interview with a local media news channel, Raja explained that the move was part of a larger effort to bring in new management and that the contracts for Misbah and Waqar were set to expire in January or February. 

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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," he maintained.

Raja also confirmed that the decision was well thought out and discussed with both coaches, though he acknowledged that it may not have looked good timing-wise, coming just a week or so before the start of the tournament. 

Despite the change, Pakistan has succeeded under the new coaching setup, with Saqlain Mushtaq as the head coach and Abdul Razzaq as the bowling coach.

"The CEO talked to Misbah. It obviously didn't look good that the change took place within a week or ten days before the T20 World Cup. But I thought we could only go to a certain extent with them. "When I used to do commentary, I realised that a change was necessary," said the former PCB chief."