Football-like management is disastrous for Pakistan cricket: Ramiz Raja

TV pundit Ramiz Raja said that captains should be given more liberty than coaching staff in terms of having greater involvement in team management.

The former captain shared his thoughts on his YouTube channel and expressed that handling a cricket team using a ‘football style’ of management leads to disastrous consequences.

“Running cricket like football will be a disaster because the role of manager is more important that the captain because he calls all the shots. But if you try to apply the same in cricket, it will only lead to confusion within the side,” he said.

Players should be paid more than coaches

Raja also stressed upon centralizing authoritative power to the captain as they have a greater role to fulfill than the coaching staff. He elaborates further by adding that players should be paid more because they hold the greater responsibility of bearing victory.

“It’s fruitless to have such a massive coaching staff associated with the team because I think, just like cricket back in the day, the role of captain is more important than the coaches,” said Raja. 

“We should not dilute a captain’s authority by giving more power to coaches," he added. 

“I also don’t understand why coaches are paid more than the players because their role is limited to nets and the dressing room."

“But, on the other hand, it’s the team that goes out on the field to win matches,” he concludes. 

Grass root is the way to go

In addition to this, the former captain placed emphasis on employing ex-greats on domestic level so that players may hone their skill when they enter the international circuit. 

“There is little point in appointing a great player as the coach of a side when you have not done your homework at lower levels,” said Raja. 

“Good administrators always place great emphasis on having top quality coaches at grass root level in order to ensure that a player’s skillset is fine-tuned before they enter the international fray.”

“You cannot change someone’s batting or bowling style when he starts playing international cricket because that is only possible at the initial stages of a player’s cricket career. This is precisely the reason why you need top-notch coaches at junior levels so that cricketers are nurtured in the best possible manner." 

"A cricketer should play for the national side as finished articles and must not require extensive coaching in order to cope with the dynamics of modern-day cricket,” he said.