Ramiz Raja: “The one who gets out after completing his fifty, give him the last warning for [the] next match that if you repeat the same pattern, there is no space in [the] team for you”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja said “there is no space in [the] team” for star batsman Babar Azam if he keeps getting out after reaching his fifty.
His comments come after Azam amassed 320 runs in nine matches during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Ramiz noted that the 29-year-old should be given a “last warning” about failing to convert his starts into big scores.
He added that Azam takes a lot of time to score his runs and “destroys” the innings if he gets out after providing some stability.
“The one who gets out after completing his fifty, give him the last warning for [the] next match that if you repeat the same pattern, there is no space in [the] team for you. Because he consumes the overs, spends time on [the] wicket, balances the innings but then destroys it completely as well,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan began their World Cup campaign with consecutive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their final group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Azam, who stepped down as captain after the World Cup, will now play in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, which will get underway on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
[TS_Poll id=”100″]
Rameez has an excellent understanding of cricket . His analysis of Babar is correct. Babar focussed on his performance only, not on team. Questions arises that his slow batting was deliberate putting his team under pressure in remaing overs resulting lower score and ultimately team’s defeat.
This technique may be, and most probably the strategy for match fixing.
He is the person involved in malpractices and team’s defeats.