Pakistan cricket team needs someone with fearless approach like Virat Kohli: Ramiz Raja

Lately, there have been a lot of speculations surrounding Pakistan cricket. Head coach Mickey Arthur’s contract wasn’t extended and same was the case for rest of the support staff, including bowling coach Azhar Mahmood and batting coach Grant Flower.

It has been learned that former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has rejected the offer for the role of head coach. With Hesson out of the picture, the most likely contender for the position doing the rounds is Misbah-ul-Haq. Misbah is currently holding the pre-season conditioning camp in Lahore.

However, not everyone is satisfied with Misbah being the Pakistan head coach, one of them is Ramiz Raja, who feels that Misbah’s defensive approach can have an adverse effect on Pakistan team in the future.

“Misbah has a defensive approach towards cricket and waits for the opposition to make a mistake instead of being proactive. He won many matches with this approach in UAE, however, Pakistan cricket needs individual who can make things happen rather than react to the opponent’s gameplan,” Raja was quoted as saying in cricketpakistan.com.pk.

Under Misbah, Pakistan has won 24 out of 52 Tests, 45 out of 87 ODIs and 6 out of 8 T20Is.
While, Ramiz Raja dosen’t want Misbah as the head coach, he said that the team is in need of someone with a fearless approach like Virat Kohli.

“Virat Kohli has taken the Indian team to new heights [in Test cricket] with his aggressive and fearless approach. Pakistan needs to follow suit as there is aggression in the men in green’s DNA and they need individuals in the think-tank who can make plans that are according to the demands of modern-day cricket,” the former cricketer said.

Pakistan currently stands seventh in ICC’s ranking for teams. Misbah-ul-Haq’s stats in international cricket isn’t bad, but it’s his approach, which hasn’t impressed former skipper Ramiz Raja, who feels that Pakistan team is in urgent need for fresh mindset.

“Pakistan under Misbah was only successful in one type of condition and played safe cricket. If the men in green want to change their fortunes in Test cricket and increase their fan following, they need a fresh approach and that can only happen when people with aggressive mindsets are in charge,” Raja added.