Misbah-ul-Haq is the poor man’s MS Dhoni

Former Pakistan captain-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja has termed Misbah-ul-Haq a “poor man’s MS Dhoni” as he believes that the Pakistan head coach needs to bring ‘modern thinking’ to the side.

While striking out the similarities between Misbah and Dhoni, Raja said that the latter needs to leave his subdued approach behind and adapt according to the modern demands of the game.

Ramiz said in an interview on his official YouTube channel, “Misbah’s training and upbringing is different. Let me put it this way, he is the poor man’s Dhoni. MS was also restrained, no expressions and not emotional. Misbah is also like this but I think now he has to go on modern thinking.”

He further opined, “Misbah has to take a new direction because there is a need to set the GPS right for Pakistan cricket 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. But if our products and talent is right we shouldn’t be afraid of hiccups and setbacks.”

Ramiz also explained being aggressive has paid-off in modern-day cricket while citing the example of India head coach Ravi Shastri and skipper Virat Kohli.

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,” Raja observed.

“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 Pakistan skipper added.

Meanwhile, Pakistan are set to tour South Africa, where they will play 3 ODIs and 4 T20Is against the Proteas. The first ODI will take place in Centurion at the SuperSport Park on April 2nd.