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A few days back, former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja was sacked as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman by the country’s government. A 14-member committee, headed by Najam Sethi, was simultaneously appointed to run the affairs of the sport in Pakistan over the next four months.
Through a notification on December 21, the Pakistani government removed Raja from the post of PCB chief. The massive development came just a few days after the Pakistan cricket team was hammered 3-0 by England in a Test series. The defeat marked the first instance of the men’s Pakistan team being whitewashed in a home Test series.
Raja served as PCB chairman for 15 months after being appointed to the role by former Prime Minister Imran Khan in September 2021. During his tenure, Pakistan reached the final of the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
PCB, Ramiz Raja, and Indian cricket: The anthology of a controversy
Ever since being sacked as PCB chairman, Raja has gone on a rampage against the Pakistan cricket board as well as its new chief Sethi.
That’s not all, he’s even taken barbs at Indian cricket, even as some former cricketers from his own country have questioned his role as PCB chief.
We try to encapsulate the entire controversy that has embarrassed Pakistan cricket.
“India ko hazam nahi hua ki Pakistan unse kaise aage nikal gaya”
In his latest explosive statement, Raja claimed that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) changed their captain and later the entire selection committee as they couldn't digest Pakistan doing better than them.
Speaking to Suno TV, he commented:
"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).”
While India lost to Pakistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 match and the T20 World Cup 2021 clash in Dubai, they got the better of their arch-rivals in a thrilling encounter at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) during the T20 World Cup 2022.
“I would keep telling Babar Azam it’s important to win against India”
During an interaction on his YouTube channel after being sacked as PCB chief, Raja revealed that he kept stressing the importance of Pakistan beating India during his chats with Babar Azam.
The former batter elaborated:
“When any country tries to boss, then it becomes a problem. Suddenly, we took a stand against India (not going to India for World Cup if India doesn’t play Asia Cup) and that situation won’t be painted in India that way. They will obviously say “who are they to challenge us?.
“That’s why I would keep telling Babar Azam it’s important to win against India… If we are not competitive against them (India), they will not regard as us a superpower in cricket. We have to prove it again and again. We have also beaten India twice recently.”
Earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had made it clear that India will not visit Pakistan for the 2023 Asia Cup and will bat for a neutral venue.
Responding to the development, Raja, during his tenure as PCB chief, had threatened that Pakistan won’t play the 2023 ODI World Cup in India if BCCI doesn’t send its team to Pakistan for the preceding Asia Cup.
"They did not allow me to take my stuff out of the office”
In a video uploaded to his YouTube Channel a few days back, Raja hit out at the PCB over his sacking, while also alleging that he was not even allowed to take his stuff out from the board’s office.
The 60-year-old 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 has refuted Raja’s allegations and stated that the belongings will be handed over to the ex-chief as part of the usual handing and takeover process.
“He has never lifted a bat” - Ramiz Raja’s jibe at new PCB chief
In a YouTube interaction, Raja attributed his sacking as PCB chief to a political vendetta. He went on to question the decision to change the board’s constitution to "accommodate" Sethi.
Launching a scathing attack on the PCB chairman, he stated that Sethi has never held a bat. Raja commented during his outburst:
"To accommodate one person, Sethi to be precise, they had to change the entire constitution (of the PCB). I have not seen this anywhere in the world. It has been done in the middle of a season, when teams are visiting Pakistan. They have changed the chief selector, who had played Test cricket. At 2 am in the night, he (Sethi) tweets that Ramiz Raja is gone. This is my playing field. It hurts.”
"It has been made out as if a messiah (Sethi) has come, who will take the game to new heights. We know what he is up to. He wants limelight at any cost. He has nothing to do with cricket, and has never lifted a bat.”
Sethi, 74, was earlier appointed interim PCB chairman back in 2013 during the tenure of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
PCB responds to Raja’s allegations, threatens to take legal action
On Wednesday, December 28, the PCB came out with an official statement in response to various allegations leveled by Raja against the cricket board and its new chief Sethi.
Reacting to the former Pakistan captain’s outburst, PCB’s statement read:
"The Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed its disappointment over the comments made and language used by former Chairman Mr Ramiz Raja against Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Mr Najam Sethi on a social media platform and in a TV interview.”
The statement went on to add that the PCB has the right to initiate legal proceedings against Raja. The official statement further read:
"The PCB believes former Chairman Mr Raja's comments are aimed at tarnishing and damaging the impeccable reputation of present Chairman Mr Sethi, adding it reserves it's rights to pursue legal proceedings to protect and defend the image and credibility of its Chairman and the institution."
The PCB also clarified that Raja was never stopped from entering the Gaddafi Stadium premises and would be welcome to visit at any time in the future.
“He didn't reply me back” - Wahab Riaz lashes out at Ramiz Raja
While there have been mixed reactions to Raja’s sacking as PCB chief, Pakistan’s left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz has hit out at the axed chairman.
Speaking to Samaa TV, he claimed that the former skipper never responded to his calls. Riaz commented:
“I was talking to one of the board members and he said he was happy that Ramiz bhai was going. So, the people who worked under you were not happy with you. I had messaged Ramiz bhai 4-5 times during his tenure, I said I'm waiting for your message and your call. He didn't reply me back. Why? I'm a present cricketer, I didn't take retirement.”
The 37-year-old also claimed that anyone above 30 was deemed unfit to play under Raja’s tenure. He elaborated:
“They said that it could hurt the unity of the team or the performances of the team. Who has performed from the team that they chose? I don't think any player has got as many chances as those under Ramiz bhai. We didn't get more than 2 games. And after all that, the chief selector comes and says, ‘this team has given you a lot of happiness’. What's this? Eid?”
Riaz last represented Pakistan in a T20I against New Zealand in Hamilton in December 2020.
“Ramiz Raja himself should have resigned after Imran Khan's government ended” - Aaqib Javed
Sharing his thoughts on Raja’s removal as PCB chief, former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed opined that the former should have quit once Imran Khan was no longer the Prime Minister.
He also claimed that he had also advised Raja to resign, but the former captain did not pay heed to his views. Javed was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan:
"Ramiz Raja was a one-man show in PCB which he admits himself. He was given a chance to work for the betterment of Pakistan Cricket. Now let Najam Sethi work in PCB. I advised Ramiz Raja to resign from his position and let the newly appointed Government bring the new Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), but he didn't listen to me.
"Ramiz Raja himself should have resigned after Imran Khan's government ended. Almost everyone, including PSL franchises, was sad during Ramiz Raja's Chairmanship in PCB.”
A former teammate of Raja, Javed (50) played 22 Tests and 163 ODIs for Pakistan from 1988 to 1998.
Also Read: 3 positive takeaways from 2022 for the Indian men's team
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