Babar Azam, Saqlain Mushtaq recommended foreign coaches: PCB chief Ramiz Raja

Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander had joined Pakistan coaching staff for T20 WC 2021.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja has revealed that captain Babar Azam and stand-in coach Saqlain Mushtaq have recommended that the board hires foreign coaches for the betterment of the Pakistan team.

Even wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is in favor of bringing in experts from overseas.

Pakistan benefitted highly by appointing Matthew Hayden as batting coach and Vernon Philander as bowling coach for the T20 World Cup 2021, as they reached the semifinals of the tournament and also beat rivals India for the first time in World Cup history.

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Raja said his view, which he presented to the trio, was that more local coaches should be with the team on away tours so that they get a chance to groom themselves and gain knowledge and experience.  

"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. 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," Ramiz said.
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The former Pakistan captain also said that he intentionally didn’t appoint a full support staff of technical coaches for the tour of Bangladesh and the home series against West Indies, as he wanted to see the team stand on its own feet with its own thinking.

“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,” he added.

The PCB has already advertised for the position of five coaches including a power-hitting batting coach and high performance centre head coach, a position left vacant after the resignation of New Zealand's Grant Bradburn.

(PTI inputs)