Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja passed responsibility for Pakistan’s disappointing pitches during his tenure to then-skipper Babar Azam, despite previously defending the surface conditions.
Raja speaks during a BBC Test Match Special (TMS) Broadcast during the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, he said Babar was integral to decisions regarding the pitch, a major shift from Raja’s previous public comments where he defended the state of the pitches as part of a wider strategy against Australia in 2022.
In his interview, Raja referred to Babar as the central figure in setting the pitch strategy during the Pakistan vs Australia series. “I wasn’t really supervising the preparation of the stadium,” Raja said.
“I was just listening to Babar. When he would enter my room, I would ask him about his plans to beat Australia. He came up with the strategy, and even though I wondered about it sometimes, he was the captain of the team. End of the day,” he added.
“It becomes a guessing game when you don’t know what the pitch is. You can’t really plan an attack if the pitch isn’t behaving correctly or to your liking or power. And that was the main reason, a major reason for Pakistan’s disaster at home. The pitches didn’t really respond,” Ramiz said. For the type of talent you chose to perform.”
These statements signal a change in position for Raja, who, as PCB chairman, was widely seen as the primary authority behind the decisions that led to Pakistan’s pitches receiving international criticism for being too flat and lifeless, especially during the first Test. Against Australia in Rawalpindi. . The match ended in a high-scoring draw, with just 14 wickets falling in five days.
Australia’s Steve Smith, then, described the wicket as “dead and benign” during one of his interactions with the media.
However, Raja defended the pitch strategy, claiming it was designed to protect Pakistan’s limited resources against a powerful Australian bowling attack.
“A drawn match is never a good advertisement for Test cricket and I fully understand that we need to get a result in five days,” Raja said after the Rawalpindi Test in March 2022.
“But because of that, we cannot prepare a fast pitch or a bouncy pitch and put the match in Australia’s lap,” he added.
During his appearance in BBC TMS Broadcast, Rameez Raja also shared his assessment of Babar’s leadership.
While praising Babar for his leadership in white-ball cricket, Raja expressed his frustration with Test captaincy.
“I have partially evaluated it,” Raja said. “He did well in white-ball cricket, but not so much in Tests. I was frustrated at times with the way he pitched and ran things.”
However, Raja acknowledged Babar’s ability to keep the dressing room calm during turbulent times.
“One of the great things about Babar Azam is that he kept calm in the dressing room. They all responded to him when he had the support of the board,” Raja added.
Raja also touched on the importance of players like Babar and Shaheen Shah Afridi in promoting the brand of Pakistani cricket. “It’s the ads,” Raja said.
“When you’re surfing cricket channels, why stop to watch Pakistan cricket? Maybe to watch Babar Azam’s cover campaign or Shaheen Afridi’s enthusiastic sons. Remove them, and from a sponsor or fan’s point of view, it doesn’t look so great.”