“They should not play Test cricket” - Ramiz Raja slams Zimbabwe after Pakistan trouncing
Ramiz Raja has been unsparing in his criticism of Zimbabwe after the minnows were thrashed by Pakistan in the recently concluded two-match Test series. The former Pakistan batsman suggested Zimbabwe should refrain from playing Test cricket and instead focus on the white-ball formats.
Pakistan won the series 2-0, winning both games by an innings and 100-plus runs.
Reviewing the series on his YouTube channel, Ramiz Raja felt Zimbabwe should stay away from Test cricket, owing to their poor record in the format.
"There has been a gradual deterioration in their system and structure along with corruption in cricket board. This performance is a reflection of this deterioration over the past 15-20 years. I hope they do well in the future but for now, they should not play Test cricket and concentrate only on white-ball cricket," Raja claimed.
Zimbabwe have won just two of the 17 Tests they have played in the last five years and have a win percentage of just 11.76. Of their 13 losses over the same period, five were innings defeats, while four matches were by margins of 200-plus runs. They also lost a Test by 10 wickets.
"Sad to see Zimbabwe's current state" - Ramiz Raja
Zimbabwe have slipped down the pecking order in recent years, with comparatively inexperienced sides like Afghanistan overtaking them on the international stage. Ramiz Raja rued Zimbabwe cricket’s decline, as he reminisced about how competitive they were in the 1990s.
"It's sad to see Zimbabwe's current state because they were a very competitive team back in the day. Their team in the 1992 World Cup had three or four world-class players who could take the game away from you if proper planning was not done," Raja said.
Zimbabwe next travel to Ireland for a white-ball series. The two teams will play a three-match ODI series, starting August 6, before featuring in five T20Is from August 15.