Cricket

“He came here for six days, now he’s back to where he belongs”, Wasim Akram finally talks about Ramiz Raja’s sacking as the PCB Chairman

by
Rohit Sarkar
January 28, 2023

Wasim Akram, former captain of Pakistan and a great pace bowler, recently made a pretty outspoken comment about Ramiz Raja, his colleague on the 1992 World Cup-winning squad. In December, high-ranking officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), including the board’s previous chairman, were shown the door.

When questioned about his former teammate’s time at the top cricket board after his dismissal, Akram did not hold back and made a strong stance. In an interview with Cricket Pakistan, the fast bowling great spoke on the new board and Ramiz’s dismissal.

“There was a change in the Pakistani board. You talked about Najam Sethi; Ramiz Raja was removed. How would you rate Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman?” asked the reporter.

“Who? Look, I don’t want to discuss this. Vo (Ramiz Raja) 6 din ke liye aaya tha, ab vo vaapis aa gaya hai apni jagah pe. (He came here for six days, now he’s back to where he belongs),” Akram was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

The top board showed Ramiz the door and then nominated Najam Sethi to head a 14-person committee. Wasim went on to say that the new chairman is well-suited to the position and that “cricketers should not be PCB chairman.”

📸 Preparations for the third T20I in Canberra 🏏#AUSWvPAKW | #BackOurGirls pic.twitter.com/n4A7ZO7cKE

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) January 28, 2023

Najam Sethi, addressing the media on Monday, January 23rd, announced the return of Mickey Arthur as Pakistan’s head coach after the change in administration. In addition, former batter Haroon Rasheed was named by Sethi to take over as head of the national selection committee from Shahid Afridi, who had been serving in an interim capacity.

“Najam Sethi has the experience, and it’s no concept that only cricketers should be PCB chairman. You need to be a good administrator, and you also need to be a good communicator and build a good reputation with other boards. Najam Sethi sahab is the best in that. People can disagree for all I care. It’s my opinion,” he added.