Ramiz Raja believes Mickey Arthur's likely return as Team Director to be an 'ego-driven decision'

Former President of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja, has been vocal about his disappointment at the board's intention to re-appoint former coach Mickey Arthur as the Team Director. The ex-Pakistan captain described the move as an 'ego-driven' one, likely to backfire.

As per reports, former national team coach Mickey Arthur is all set to join as the Team Director of the Pakistan men's national squad. Few reports also speculated on the chances of Arthur being hired as an online coach.

Raja believes that the situation has been 'massively mishandled'

Reacting to the possibility of Arthur's return, former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja on his YouTube channel said, "I think this has been massively mishandled because this concept won't work. This is an ego-driven decision because they don't want to accept what the previous board has done. You are allowed to formulate your own strategy, but that doesn't mean that you belittle local coaches and stars. I think this is futile and will massively backfire."

The 60-year-old added that current Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, must have had a say in this decision. Raja said, "I don't know whether he has talked about this, but Babar Azam, despite being easygoing, has very strong views on certain things. I hope he was consulted before such a step was taken."

Arthur served as the head coach of Pakistan between 2016 and 2019, but his contract wasn't renewed following the team's unfortunate showing in the 2019 World Cup.'

'I blame our own system'- Misbah-ul-Haq

Before Raja could make his statements, former captain and coach Misbah-ul-Haq had already expressed his views on the situation.

Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the 48-year-old commented, "It's a slap on our cricket system that we are not able to find a high-profile full-time coach. It's a shame that the best ones do not want to come, and we insist on having someone who is looking at Pakistan as a second option…I blame our own system, which is vulnerable enough with so many weak lines for anyone to exploit it. We are to be blamed ourselves that we have disrespected and discredited our own people to make a bad image."