Pakistan Cricket Board’s ex-chairman, Rameez Raja recently explained in an interview the reason behind the controversial removal of Waqar Younus and Misbah ul Haq.
Rameez Raja revealed that ex-coaches Waqar Younus and Misbah Ul Haq’s contracts were already ending and as a chairman, he had the right to remove them.
He said, “We had yearly contracts. They (Misbah and Waqar) would’ve left in January/February anyway. We brought new management. It wasn’t easy for me. I’ve played with Waqar; I talked to him in detail.”
He further added, “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.”
Moreover, he explained that he talked to everyone involved in detail about the decisions. The decision looked messy because it came right before the tournament but it was a well-thought-out plan to place Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq as coaches of the Pakistan cricket team.
However, he maintained that the change was necessary for the future of Pakistan’s cricket team.