Ramiz Raja also lauded Babar Azam’s captaincy.
Ramiz Raja, Pakistan cricket board (PCB) chairman and former Pakistan captain, hailed the Men in Green’s wins over India in the recent Asia Cup 2022 and last year’s T20 World Cup despite the team’s ongoing batting debacle ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022.
While Pakistan’s middle order is a big worry for the team going into the T20 World Cup 2022, starting on October 16 in Australia, Raja feels the Men in Green should be lauded for their recent success over India while admitting that the Men in Blue are far ahead of them in terms of skills.
Speaking to Pakistan news channel Samaa TV, Ramij Raja said: “Pehle toh India ke against jo jeete hain ham, bade arsey ke baad hua hai. Iss team ki tareef karni chahiye. Skill ki baat thi, Indians skill level me hamse bahut aage hain, abhi bhi batting me aage hain. Magar ek mental block tha jisko clear karna tha. Aur vo kiya iss team ne ek young captain ke under. (It’s after a long time that we won against India. We should be lauding this team. Indians are far ahead in skill level than us, especially in batting. But it was important to clear that mental block and this team did that under a young captain).”
Speaking about Babar Azam’s captaincy, the PCB chief said: “If your captain is strong, he can take the team ahead, he has that ownership of the side. I’ve played cricket and led the side, I know if you don’t have authority in the dressing room and someone keeps pulling the strings from behind, you can never have the confidence of players. I’ve given Babar that authority, he is a lot more mature for a 27-year-old. He is very confident.”
Notably, Pakistan was recently hammered by New Zealand by 9 wickets in the fourth match of the ongoing T20I tri-series, which led to heavy criticism of the side. Pakistan will soon travel to Australia for the T20 World Cup 2022 after the conclusion of the New Zealand T20I tri-series.
