Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja described the surprising departures of Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis from the administration during his term. The apex cricket body undertook a number of reforms in December, including a managerial upheaval.
Following poor performances in the Asia Cup 2022, the T20 World Cup 2022, and a humiliating whitewash (3-0) against England in the Test series at home, the PCB opted to fire Ramiz. Following that, the former World Cup champion went ballistic at the manner in which he was handed the departure door and chastised the new board led by Najam Sethi. In an interview with Samaa TV, he was questioned about the sudden departures of Misbah and Waqar during his tenure, to which Ramiz said that it was his “right” as chairman.
“They were paid in full for two years. They were treated with the utmost respect. It was my prerogative as chairman to fire them. Even today, they are discussing the possibility of replacing Saqlain Mushtaq with Mickey Arthur. “I structured contracts in such a manner that the board would not be stuck with a coaching setup for three years,” Ramiz said.
Ramiz, on the other hand, said that the two would have departed anyway owing to their individual yearlong contracts. He also said that when commentating on the Pakistan games, he saw that some improvements were needed.
“We had annual contracts. They (Misbah and Waqar) would have gone regardless in January/February. We installed new management. It was not an easy task for me. I played with Waqar and spoke with him extensively. “The CEO spoke with Misbah,” stated the former PCB president.
“It clearly didn’t seem good that the move took happened with a week or 10 days before the T20 World Cup. But I got the impression that we could only go so far with them. “When I was doing commentary, I saw that a change was required,” he continued.
Prior to Sethi taking over as chairman of the board, he served as the 35th chairman of the board from September 2021 to December 2022.
