Ramiz Raja asks Shahid Afridi to step down from his position of interim chief selector in PCB
Ramiz Raja, Shahid Afridi (Source: Twitter)
Pakistan Cricket Board administration went through a transition last month as plenty of changes were made internally. Najam Sethi replaced former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja as the chairman, Shahid Afridi was appointed as the interim chief selector of the men’s national team, where he was also joined by his former teammate Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum.
Ever since Ramiz Raja was sacked from his position, there has been a war of words between him and the current PCB regime. The cricket board has even threatened to file a lawsuit against Raja for his constant disparaging remarks. Despite the warning, the former Pakistan cricketer has been vocal about his cold relations with the current regime and in an interaction last week, he even asked Afridi to step down from his position.
“In my opinion, he shouldn’t work in such an environment. I can only suggest this,” Ramiz told Capital TV. When asked to elaborate, Ramiz added, “If I have to join any institution, I’ll do a bit of research. Who is the boss, who are his subordinates, will I be comfortable or not, will I get any reward, why do I want to work, what is the purpose?”
Ramiz was fired as PCB chairman after Pakistan’s humiliating 3-0 whitewash against England during the home Test series in December.
Afridi brought Sarfaraz Ahmed back into the Pakistan squad
Meanwhile, if we look at Afridi’s tenure so far he has already taken some bold decisions with the latest being the promotion of veteran wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed to the playing XI from the bench. Ahmed featured in both the Tests against New Zealand and marked a sensational return to international cricket.
While both the matches ended in a draw, the former Pakistan skipper finished as the leading run-scorer of the series. He accumulated 335 runs from four innings, which included a crucial fourth innings century in the second Test in Karachi that helped Pakistan reach close to the target on Day 5.
In addition, he has recalled experienced candidates Haris Sohail and Shan Masood back in the ODI squad against New Zealand, stating “the two still have plenty to offer to Pakistan cricket.” Sohail has not featured in an ODI since 2020, while Masood last featured in the format in 2019.
