India's mindset is to limit us: Ramiz Raja

Former chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ramiz Raja, has said that India has the mindset to limit Pakistan.

Raja was dismissed as the PCB chief in December after a 14-member committee, led by Najam Sethi, was established by the government.

In an interaction at the Government College University in Lahore on Tuesday, the former cricketer said: "India's mindset is to limit us. The International Cricket Council (ICC) gets revenue from India and it becomes influential. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) gave us the Asia Cup, and I took a strong stand when it came to taking it away."

It must be noted that in October last year, former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said that Pakistan will not go to India for ICC World Cup 2023 if India pulls out of Asia Cup 2023 in Pakistan.

The statement came out after BCCI secretary Jay Shah stated that India will not go to Pakistan for the Asian event. His announcement caught Pakistan by surprise, with PCB officials warning that the move could "split" the international cricket community.

Under the new management committee, the PCB Constitution 2014 was restored while the legislation of 2019 was repealed.

The former batter criticised the restoration of 2014's constitution, claiming that it has brought Pakistan cricket to a "dark age".

"I did not come here to fight my case. For a year and a half, I focused on continuity and growth. It's an abuse that you come forward by bulldozing the constitution. This is an abuse of youth, as they will wonder what is going on here," he added.

Raja also lauded the achievements of Pakistan white-ball teams in recent times and suggested not to tweak the team as it will cause negative results.

"There have been attempts to force things. A great team has been made for white-ball cricket as many stars have been developed. If you change the team, it will get negative results and nothing will be achieved. Pakistan has played in the final of the World Cup, is it a small thing? Babar and company's focus is on cricket," he said.

'No respect for fixers'

The former commentator also said that he had no respect for players that engage in fixing.

"Those involved in fixing and that are tainted are not regarded well. Such people have no regard in my book. I am from an era when nine players were fighting for the win while two were just playing around."

Raja also spoke against Shan Masood being named as vice-captain of the ODI team for the New Zealand series, saying a player who is not part of the permanent team has been made Babar's deputy.

"It means you're tweaking things unnecessarily, putting the white-ball team under pressure. There is no point in this. The white ball team is extraordinary," he stated.

Moreover, the former PCB chief also opened up about Sarfaraz Ahmed's exclusion from the national team.

The wicket-keeper batter returned to the Pakistan team after almost four years and performed exceptionally well, scoring 355 runs in four innings against New Zealand.

"Sarfaraz Ahmed has always been a part of the team. The coach and captain have to choose from 16. I have tried to make the captain strong," he remarked.