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Wasim Raja lashes out at PCB chief

Wasim Raja has finally said why he quit as Pakistan cricket coach. It is because of differences with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mujeeb Ur Rehman, he says.

"Mujeeb Ur Rehman is immature, he does not know anything about the game as he is not a cricketer,'' Raja was quoted as saying in the Gulf News.

"He interfered with my duties and I was forced to tell him to look after the administrative affairs of the board and leave cricket to me. He was not ready for that, so I quit,'' Raja, who relinquishes his job as coach after the ongoing Sharjah tournament, was quoted as saying in the United Arab Emirates daily.

A veteran of 57 Tests and 54 one-day internationals, Raja said he was not sacked on disciplinary grounds but resigned on his own.

According to him, interference from non-cricketers was the bane of Pakistani cricket. ''Former cricketers should be made coaches. In Pakistan, there is no dearth of good former players. Unfortunately, the country is following the trend of nations like Sri Lanka and India who have hired foreign coaches and consultants.''

He also was of the view that betting charges were putting pressure on the players. ''I don't think the one-man commission report by Justice Malik Mohammed Quayyum is free of political interference. The players are under tremendous pressure reading fresh allegations every day. The PCB should not have taken this matter to the court at all.''

Raja said betting did not exist. ''I have not seen anything. The people who bet on the Pakistani team are non-cricketers and when they lose huge amounts, they allege that the players were bribed.''

The former cricketer felt that the current Pakistani team was playing as a unit. ''We will do well in Australia and can beat anyone in the world provided the players are free from external pressure. Mushtaq Ahmed and Shoaib Akhtar should be in the squad for the Australian tour but there is a big question mark on Akhtar's fitness,'' he said.

Raja, who used to teach geography in a school in England, will probably return to his previous job after the Sharjah tournament is over.

UNI