Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja said that the captain Babar Azam and coach Saqlain Mushtaq had recommended foreign coaches for Pakistan national team. Raja also consulted with Pakistan’s vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan who had similar views on this topic.
“During my discussions with Babar, Rizwan, and later Saqlain they all said it would be better to integrate foreign coaches in the national team’s dressing room,” Ramiz Raja said.
Notable that Pakistan’s head Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis resigned from their roles, right before the T20 World Cup. Then the PCB appointed Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander as batting and bowling respectively for the world cup.
Babar Azam & Co. did well in the T20 World Cup as they won all 5 games in the group stage however their campaign ended in the semifinal as they lost to eventual champions Australia. After the World Cup, Pakistan toured Bangladesh where they clean swept both T20I and Tests with a margin of 3-0 and 2-0 respectively.
However, Raja believes that local coaches should be there with the team who can groom the youngsters in foreign tours.
“My thinking is also that you only need regular coaches if you want to have the best dressing room environment and I think we already have that in our team.” the PCB chairman said.
He also revealed that he intentionally didn’t appoint any full-time coach for the series against Bangladesh and West Indies as he wanted them to learn on their own (in a relatively easier series).
“I believe that a player only attains greatness in a team when he has to work hard in a difficult situation to perform without any support,” Raja said.
The PCB had advertised for the position of multiple coaches which includes the position of power-hitting batting coach and high-performance centre head coach.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be their home series against Australia as they will play 3 Tests, 3 ODIs, and one T20I in March-April. Meanwhile, Pakistan Super League (PSL) will start on January 27.