Watch: Old video of former Pakistan cricketer alleging Waqar Younis of ‘regionalism’ goes viral

Former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis was one of the greatest bowlers during his era. After making his debut alongside India’s Sachin Tendulkar in 1989, he had a distinguished career. In 87 Tests from 1989 to 2003, the right-arm pacer 373 wickets at an average of 23.56 including 22 five-wicket hauls. Talking about ODIs, he played 262 games and has 416 to his name at an average of 23.84 including 13 five-wicket hauls.

After retiring from the game in 2004, he joined the team as a bowling coach two years later. From 2006 to 2010, he worked in the position before being elevated to head coach. Till August 2011, he remained the head coach of the team. While the Vehari-born player was the head coach of the team, a player by the name of Ramiz Raja Jr. got a maiden call-up for the Zimbabwe series. Even though he made his debut the next year, he didn’t have the greatest of experiences.

In an old video that is going viral, Raja has alleged that Younis used to be biased against him. The former added that he was ‘asked to learn the Punjabi language’ and was discriminated against because of Karachi heritage.

Watch the video here

Ramiz Raja has come hard at Waqar Younis! pic.twitter.com/cwL2uOFFhc

— Basit Subhani (@BasitSubhani) November 18, 2022

Talking about Raja, he played two games and could manage only 23 runs. He was part of teams that played in different squads and played different formats. However, he continued to be ignored. Rameez Raja Jr. fell upon tough times and is nowhere in the Pakistan selection radar. Meanwhile, several journalists and freelancers have accused PCB of involving in discrimination over regions of players over the years.

The sacking of Sarfaraz Ahmed also fueled the debate in Pakistan cricket. For the unversed, the 2017 Champions Trophy-winning skipper following the team’s failure to qualify for the semis of the 2019 ODI World Cup and failure to win against Sri Lanka in a T20I series.