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Former Pakistan captain and ex-PCB chief Ramiz Raja is celebrating his 61st birthday on Monday, August 14. A resilient opening batter during his playing days, Raja represented Pakistan in 57 Tests and 198 ODIs from 1984 to 1997. He scored 2833 runs at an average of 31.83 in Tests, with two hundreds and 22 fifties to his name.
Raja’s numbers were much more prolific in ODIs where he scored 5841 runs at an average of 32.09, with nine hundreds and 31 fifties. He was a key member of the team that lifted the 1992 World Cup. Raja scored 349 runs in eight matches at an average of 58.17, with two hundreds. He also took the catch that won the World Cup for Pakistan.
Post-retirement, he took to commentary like many of his predecessors. Raja also served as the chief executive officer of the PCB for a brief period from 2003 to 2004. In 2021, he was appointed chairman of PCB but was sacked in a rather unceremonious manner.
In recent times, Raja has made news for a number of controversial reasons.
On his birthday, we look back at the three biggest controversies involving the former Pakistan captain.
#1 Raja claimed India changed their captain because they couldn’t digest Pakistan getting ahead of them
Making a rather boisterous claim last year, Raja said that the BCCI changed its leader and also the entire selection committee as it couldn't digest Pakistan doing better than them in cricket. Raja was referring to the sacking of Virat Kohli as captain by the BCCI.
He claimed while speaking to Suno TV:
"We gave outstanding performances in white-ball cricket. We played the Asia Cup final, India didn't play that. India, a billion-dollar industry, was left behind. Tod phod hui, unhone apna chief selector, selection committee fire kar di, captain badal diye kyunki unko (India) hazam nahi hua ki Pakistan unse kaise aage nikal gaya. (They fired their chief selector, selection committee, changed the captain because they couldn't digest how Pakistan went ahead of them).”
India went down to Pakistan in the 2022 Asia Cup Super 4 match and before that in the 2021 T20 World Cup encounter.
The Men in Blue, however, defeated their arch-rivals in a last-ball thriller during the 2022 T20 World Cup clash at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
#2 Shocking statement after PCB sacking
After being sacked as PCB chief last year, Raja went on a rant against the cricket board. He alleged that he was not even allowed to take his stuff out of the board’s office.
Making some shocking allegations while speaking on his YouTube channel, Raja claimed:
"They did not allow me to take my stuff out of the office. They don't have any interest in cricket. The constitution has been bulldozed. It is political victimization and vendetta. There will be no place for excellence when there is no continuity.”
PCB, however, refuted all allegations made by Raja, terming them baseless. Raja was replaced by Najam Sethi as PCB chief, while Ahmad Shahzad Farooq Rana was named acting chief in June 2023 after Sethi expressed his unwillingness to continue in the role.
#3 Raja’s tiff with Indian journalist
After Pakistan lost the Asia Cup 2022 final to Sri Lanka in Dubai, Raja was involved in an argument with an Indian journalist. The scribe asked the then PCB chairman if he had a message for the people of Pakistan, who were disheartened by the defeat.
The former Pakistan captain was not too impressed with the query and retorted:
“You must be from India, your people must be very happy.”
After the video went viral, a number of Pakistan fans trolled the Indian journalist over his question. On the other hand, some Indian fans termed Raja’s behavior as rude and unprofessional.
Later, issuing a clarification over the controversy during a YouTube interaction with fans, Raja defended his behavior and termed the journalist’s query as provocative.
"He was miles away from Pakistan, so there was no way he could've known the disappointment of the nation after Pakistan's loss in the final. The question that he asked was inappropriate. It was completely a provocative statement," Raja said on PCB's YouTube show, ‘Fans Forum With Ramiz’.
India and Pakistan will meet again in the 2023 Asia Cup in Pallekele on September 2.
