Pakistan cricket’s former player Ramiz Raja has given his verdict on Babar Azam’s leadership and the performance of the PCT in the current and past tournaments. The 2024 T20 World Cup, where the Pakistani team was shocked in the first round. Ramiz Raja described Babar Azam, the team’s captain, as satisfactory by giving him five out of ten and further criticized the team’s batting and bowling.
Pakistan’s Disappointing World Cup Campaign
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Pakistan reached Group A and won the matches against Canada and Ireland in the first round. But it could not progress to the Super Eights before being knocked out by the USA and rival India. During a discussion on Star Sports, Ramiz Raja got a chance to check a scale to measure different facets of the Pakistan cricket team. He said:
Probably to bat in New York conditions would be a two and to bowl is probably a six, as far as Babar is concerned, I would give him a five. Because I believe that a man is as good as his team is and your captaincy comes through, especially when the team is bowling. Pakistan has not been that bad in the bowling department; they tried their level best, but others also had to pull their pants up.
Factors Behind Pakistan’s Early Exit
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Raja pointed out the following reasons that he attributed to the disappointing performance of the Pakistan cricket team. He pointed out the lack of uniformity in terms of team selection, training sessions, etc. as one of the major concerns. Moreover, there was no consistency in the selection.
Their preparation was havoc since they did not know who was going to open the innings. The team was in the experiment phase for a very long time, and then they had to recall retired players. Though they have performed well on some occasions, raises a question about the system.
The Impact of Player Recalls and Management Changes
Ramiz Raja also criticized the management for recalling retired players such as Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir, while preaching about the wrong signals it sends out to other players waiting on the bench. The Pakistan cricket team and its management remained silent after Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir’s recall. On the other hand, the players who had to wait in the queue to get into the team were still waiting.
He further targeted the PCB management and extrapolated his comments on the recent reshuffling of the captaincy. It implies that these factors did not play a positive role in the team’s performance but interfered and contributed to irregularities.
Based on the criticism of Ramiz Raja, the picture that emerged is of a strife-torn team that had problems within and a flawed approach from leadership to players, which did not augur well for the T20 World Cup giant-killing. The comments, however, open up the need for more coordinated performance and planning if Pakistan is to regain the status of being the best cricketing nation.
Also Read: Uncertain Future for Babar Azam as Pakistan’s White-Ball Captain
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