"Time to move on and give chances to youngsters" - Ramiz Raja slams Pakistan cricket
Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja slammed the cricket system in Pakistan and called out the board for their hesitation in trying out new faces and providing chances for young players.
His comments came after Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe, as Raja shared his thoughts on the YouTube channel titled "The Indian News". He said the side should have traveled with new players and should they have lost, it would have been a valuable experience for the youngsters to learn from.
Ramiz Raja weighs in on the missed opportunity for Pakistan
Speaking about the senior and the aging players on the side, Raja expressed that he wasn’t expecting to see 40+ players feature in the squad.
"Even if you lose with new players in the side, there is at least a silver lining that you figure out players are capable and those who aren't. You move on and test another player. With older players, you already know what their value addition (to the team) is," Ramiz Raja opined.
"As far my understanding goes, I haven't seen a 40-45-year-old player in T20s on the international platform. It makes sense because your reflexes slow down and even if you were a world-class player, your performance drops to 50 percent,” he continued.
Ramiz Raja called out the Pakistan selectors for repeatedly recalling veterans to the side. While this approach has worked wonders in the past, especially for India, the former cricketer does not believe the strategy is viable in the case of the Pakistan cricket team.
"We don't have players of that caliber. For example, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, despite being at their 50%, were still very useful. This just reinforces the fear we have about losing matches. For the sake of winning, we are destroying the system," Ramiz Raja added.
The retired batsman argued the Zimbabwe tour was the perfect opportunity for Pakistan cricket to experiment, and claimed they missed out on a golden opportunity.
"Move on with new players. It will at least give you a sense of direction. Against Zimbabwe, if you had gone with new players and lost, nobody would have said anything because it could have been an experimental tour. There are very few occasions where you can experiment against an international team. Like I have said earlier, they take one step forward and two steps backward,” Ramiz Raja signed off.