'Aapne chun chun ka murabba bana diya...': Ramiz Raja comes to Babar Azam's rescue after Pakistan T20 World Cup exit, blames PCB

Babar Azam-led Pakistan's campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 came to a disappointing end on June 14 after the match between USA and Ireland got washed out. Meanwhile, former PCB chief Ramiz Raja heavily criticised the team and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their failures. This exit marks a significant drop from grace for the Pakistani team. Having reached the semi-final and final of the previous two editions, their hopes for even reaching the Super 8s stage this year were dashed when the Group A match between USA and Ireland was abandoned. Both teams received a point each, securing qualification for the co-hosts, USA, and leaving Pakistan out in the cold. This is a stark contrast to the team's performance in the 2022 edition in Australia, where they managed to reach the finals despite a similar situation. However, their luck ran out this time around, with qualification going to the teams that truly deserved it.  With Pakistan out, the Super 8s stage will see India, South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan, West Indies, and the newly qualified USA.

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Ramiz Raja took to YouTube to express his strong disapproval of the PCB's handling of the Pakistan team. He specifically criticised the board led by Mohsin Naqvi for what he called "over-experimentation" that has caused problems for the team. Raja compared the PCB's approach to making a murabba, where various ingredients are thrown together without a clear plan. This implies that the PCB's constant changes and lack of a focused strategy have created a disjointed and underperforming team.

"Aapne choon-choon ka murabba bana diya hai iss team ko (you have turned this team into a mixture of varied things)," Raja said.

 

Ramiz Raja, the captain of Pakistan's victorious 1992 World Cup team, further criticised the PCB's selection decisions. He questioned their strategy of recalling players who had previously retired from international cricket, such as all-rounder Imad Wasim and seamer Mohammad Amir. Raja argued that these recalls came at the expense of developing younger talent. He also pointed out that these players had previously criticized the captain and national setup, making their return even more puzzling.

 

"You brought back old, retired players so that somehow you save your face in the T20 World Cup...(you) let some of the good talent slip away just because this is a World Cup and it requires experience, we have to bring back retired players, even if they have bitched about the captain," Raja added.

 

Ramiz Raja isn't convinced this is an isolated incident. He drew a parallel to the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where Pakistan also boasted a team of established stars. However, that strategy backfired as the team, filled with "aging superstars" as Raja described them, couldn't recapture their past glory and crashed out in the group stages. This, according to Raja, reflects a similar pattern in the current T20 World Cup squad selection.

 

"The team doesn't work that way; we have tried this before. I think it was the 2003 World Cup. We gathered all the super stars in that team thinking that experience will come handy. But those were ageing stars, and Pakistan couldn't be saved. We got beaten badly there as well," former PCB chief signed off.

 

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