'Wake up to your options': Ramiz Raja slams PCB after Pakistan’s one-sided defeats

Former Pakistan captain and renowned commentator Ramiz Raja has strongly defended senior batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, while raising serious concerns over the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) current selection strategy and batting approach.

Speaking during a recent podcast interview, Ramiz asserted that both Babar and Rizwan fully deserve a place in the national T20 side, despite being sidelined since the series against South Africa in December last year.

“I stand with them [Babar and Rizwan], and they absolutely should be included,” Raja said.

He lashed out at the PCB’s approach, accusing the management of taking “extreme positions” on selection and performance.

“You’ve taken two extreme positions regarding selection and performance. You need to wake up to your options — how long will we keep losing such one-sided matches on the world stage?” he questioned.

The former PCB chief further analysed the team’s limitations, suggesting that Pakistan’s current squad struggles to compete against top-ranked opponents.

“I’ve seen this team closely. They can beat lower-ranked sides — those ranked sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth. But when it comes to teams ranked one to five, we end up getting thrashed,” he added.

Raja also highlighted Pakistan’s inconsistency and lack of adaptability, particularly against stronger sides. He stressed that while the talent exists, the execution remains flawed against top-tier competition.

Supporting his argument with statistics, he pointed out that Pakistan’s current batters are struggling under dot-ball pressure. 

Batsmen such as Sahibzada Farhan (54.2%), Saim Ayub (47.8%), Fakhar Zaman (45.3%), Agha Salman (60.7%), Mohammad Haris (43.9%), Mohammad Nawaz (52.1%), Faheem Ashraf (50.8%), Khushdil Shah (48.2%), and Hussain Talat (62.6%) have all recorded worrying dot-ball percentages.

In contrast, despite frequent criticism over their strike rates, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have historically shown greater control in rotating strike and anchoring the innings, particularly in pressure situations.

The pair, who featured in every major ICC tournament since the 2021 T20 World Cup in the UAE, were recently overlooked for the ongoing ACC Men’s Asia Cup as selectors opted to groom youngsters ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

However, their exclusion has sparked widespread debate. Fans have voiced disapproval across social media platforms, while cricket analysts continue to question the wisdom of sidelining Pakistan’s most reliable batters at a time when the team is still searching for stability and a winning combination.