Ramiz Raja: “I think the way Babar was removed from captaincy, I am against that. By doing politics during the World Cup, you are sending a message and giving indications that you should resign. This is why management should be of top quality”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has voiced his anger at how Babar Azam was removed as captain.
He noted that there were “politics” involved and felt that by making the 29-year-old step down after the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup sent the wrong message.
Top order batsman Shan Masood ended up replacing Azam as Test captain, while left-arm seamer Shaheen Shah Afridi took over as T20I skipper.
“I think the way Babar was removed from captaincy, I am against that. By doing politics during the World Cup, you are sending a message and giving indications that you should resign. This is why management should be of top quality,” Ramiz told Cricwick.
Azam recently represented Pakistan in their three-match Test series against Australia and scored 126 runs at an average of 21.
He then proceeded to make 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142 in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Azam will now captain the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which gets underway on February 17.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad (partially available), Arshad Iqbal, Haseebullah, Gus Atkinson (partially available), Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq (reserved), Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Waqar Salamkheil, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufyan Muqeem, Shamar Joseph