Daily Times

LAHORE: The due Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja met with the players on Tuesday at the National High-Performance center in Lahore. The purpose of the meeting firstly was to boost the confidence of the players and secondly to inform the players about his vision and planning for the future cricket of Pakistan.

“Don’t pay attention to the changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); Focus on cricket”, Ramiz Raja advised players.

Earlier, Ramiz Raja had been nominated by Prime Minister Imran Khan as the next PCB chairman, and he will be officially taking the charge on September 13.

The meeting with the players was arranged on the special request of Ramiz Raja as they are leaving for the series against New Zealand and are likely to be gathering for this cause in Islamabad tomorrow. Interestingly, the Interim coaches Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq also participated in the meeting.

“The team is being provided with a great cricketing environment. You can play cricket fearlessly. Modern cricket requires you to be aggressive,” he added.

The nominee added: “Dominate the game from the start. This is modern-day cricket and you have to play accordingly.”

“You have to adapt to the new game and it is not difficult, we are all here to guide you all,” he said, adding that cricket coaches will train you accordingly, they will define the role of each player and “no unnecessary changes will be made, no one’s role will be changed”.

The former cricket added: “Continuity will be seen which is very important in today’s cricket.”

He said that the squad for the World Cup has been selected, now we have time: “I have high hopes from the same squad, all the players give their 100% in the World Cup, the upcoming series is important, you are all talented, you have a lot of potential.”

While talking about the ranking of the Pakistan cricket team, Raja said that the ranking of the Pakistan team can be improved than this. “It has to be improved by performance,” he maintained.

After meeting the players, Raja also separately met the coaches and took them in confidence about his plans.