Former captain Ramiz Raja elected chair of Pakistan Cricket Board

Bengaluru — Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has been elected the new chair of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a tenure of three years after winning an unopposed election, the country’s cricket board announced on Monday.

Raja also announced that former Australian opener Matthew Hayden and former SA all-rounder Vernon Philander were signed up as head coach and bowling coach respectively for the Twenty20 World Cup that begins in October.

Hayden and Philander replace Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis after both coaches stepped down from their respective roles shortly after the World Cup squad was named last week.

“Hayden is Australian, I feel he can bring some aggression into the team. He has World Cup experience, he was a world-class player,” Raja told reporters. “An Australian occupying the dressing room will have a lot of benefits. This Pakistan team can win the World Cup, it just needs an improvement of 10%.”

Raja, who played more than 250 international matches for Pakistan from 1984 to 1997, replaces Ehsan Mani who stepped down from his role in August. After his retirement, Raja became a cricket commentator. The 59-year-old served as the CEO of the PCB in 2003/2004.

“One of my key focuses will be to help introduce in the Pakistan men’s cricket team the same culture, mindset, attitude and approach that once made Pakistan one of the most feared cricket playing nations,” Raja said.

“Obviously, as a former cricketer, my other priority will be to look into the welfare of our past and present cricketers. The game has and will always be about the cricketers and, as such, they deserve more recognition and respect from their parent institution.”

Reuters