He Is The Poor Man's MS Dhoni - Ramiz Raja On Misbah-ul-Haq's 'Too Protective' Coaching Method

Former Pakistan captain, Ramiz Raja opines that head coach Misbah-ul-Haq’s coaching style is similar to the captaincy methods of MS Dhoni, especially in the way they react post a loss.

While Ramiz Raja clearly doesn’t think of Misbah to be as good as the former India skipper – terming him ‘poor man’s MS Dhoni’ – he points out that both the stalwarts are ‘restrained’ in their approaches. The cricketer-turned-commentator suggests Misbah instil more aggressiveness and fearlessness in the side as the T20 World Cup closes in.

“Misbah-ul-Haq’s training and upbringing is different. Let me put it this way; he is the poor man’s Dhoni. MS was also restrained and not emotional. Misbah is also like this,” said Ramiz Raja while speaking in an interview on Cricket Baaz’s YouTube channel.

“Misbah-ul-Haq has to take a new direction because there is a need to set the GPS right for cricket in Pakistan because aggression is in our DNA. I think, at times, he gets too protective and he gets cagey as soon as we lose a match. We shouldn’t be afraid of hiccups and setbacks,” he added.

Ravi Shastri has made a big difference for the Indian team: Ramiz Raja

The 58-year-old speaks about the attitude of Ravi Shastri, now head coach of Team India, during his playing days. Raja asserts that Shastri has instilled his ‘aggressive and expressive ‘ attitude into the current Indian team, and has been fortunate to have a skipper such as Virat Kohli with the same beliefs.

“When we played against Ravi, we felt he was a misfit in the Indian team because he had aggression. He was a go-getter, a team player ready to open and bat down the order. His body language was different. We felt he wanted to be an Imran Khan type player because we were like that.

“I think he took this attitude to the Indian team, and fortunately for him, the captain Virat Kohli is also like that. He is aggressive and expressive and this has made a big difference for the Indian team,” the former batsman maintained.

Also Read: Wanted A Guaranteed Spot In Playing XI, Dale Steyn Answers To A Fan On Picking PSL Over IPL