"I was shocked to hear him say"- Shahid Afridi slams Ramiz Raja for comments on Rawalpindi pitch

Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi was not amused by what former PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja had to say about the pitches during the Pakistan vs England series.

England whitewashed the hosts 3-0, and there was a lot of talk about the benign pitches, especially the one in Rawalpindi. Here's what Raja told BBC:

“I have really not cracked the code regarding a Test match pitch, unfortunately. Absolutely disappointed with this pitch. I’m stressing on drop-in pitches in Pakistan because you’ll go to Multan and Karachi, and you’ll get a similar flavour."

Afridi was baffled after hearing this statement from Raja, and here's what he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan:

"The way Ramiz was speaking, I mean, I was shocked to hear him say that we cannot make tracks like these. International matches have been going on in Pakistan for such a long time, but then we say stuff like (this). Ramiz said that he wanted a turning track. I feel in this weather, it would have been something big."

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Rawalpindi track has always assisted fast bowlers - Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi opined that Pakistan had no reason to change the nature of the pitch in Rawalpindi. The former all-rounder claimed that the track has historically supported pacers and that made him even more perplexed about the lack of help the fast bowlers received. Afridi said:

"Rawalpindi’s track has always been for the fast bowlers with seam and bounce. Why did they even change it? If we are talking about the Rawalpindi pitch, I have never seen a track like this. I have seen a lot of domestic games as well there, but I have never seen a pitch like this which is so flat. It reminded me of Faisalabad or Sialkot track."

Pakistan failed to win a single home Test in 2022.