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- Oct 2, 2004
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- 217,523
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja lashed out at the current Pakistan team led by Azhar Ali after the Test series loss against England. Pakistan displayed an insipid performance in the third Test, allowing England to register 583/8 dec in the first innings, and then getting bundled out for 273. Heavy rainfall in the last two days led to the match ending in a draw after the hosts had enforced a follow-on.
But the draw meant that England, who already had 1-0 lead, had won the three-match Test series. Speaking in a video uploaded on his Youtube channel, Raja pointed fingers at the senior players in the team and asked them what is their role in the team.
“There are problems in the Pakistan camp, not just of late but from a while now as far as away tours are concerned. This year we lost to South Africa, Australia and now England. We compete in the first Test but progressively our form tapers off as the series progresses,” Raja said.
“What is the role of senior players? Will they keep on failing and will we still keep playing them? Why are we hesitant to bring in new players, especially batsmen?
“Decision making has to be strong. Experimentation and ruthless strong decision is the only way up,” the Pakistan batting legend added.
Raja also went on to praise England fast bowler James Anderson for his performance who picked his 600th Test wicket in the match, becoming the first pacer to reach the mark.
“James Anderson got his 600th wicket by dismissing Azhar Ali and became the first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets. His performance is like someone who has successfully climbed Mount Everest.
“James Anderson gave respect to Test cricket and thus he got respect in return. He wanted to become a great Test player and so he became,” Raja signed off.
England and Pakistan will play three-match T20 series against England starting from August 28th.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...series-loss/story-TaCIqvNlm5hfASMtnrKXAL.html
==
MUMBAI: Even though he slammed an unbeaten fifty in the second innings of the final Test against England, fans of Pakistan’s latest batting star Babar Azam were left slightly disappointed by lack of big hundreds off his bat in the recently-concluded series. Babar stroked 195 runs in three Tests@48.75 with two fifties under his belt, but much more was expected from a batsman who is often compared to Indian captain Virat Kohli, arguably the best in the business.
“You see, batting wasn’t easy in England, because these were good bowling conditions. This would’ve been a great learning curve for somebody like Babar. You know that he’s got class and quality. It’s a matter of time before he converts that class into numbers. His record is upwardly mobile. What he has to learn is to curb his natural instinct which is to go hard at the ball when it is pitched up. In England, you’ve got to be very careful and watch the ball right till the end. There, your approach has to be that you can get out any ball, and block the ball accordingly. In the sub-continent, if you reach 40, no one can get you out. In England and Australia, you’ve to respect the bowler, ball and the pitch. He needs to learn these things. He needs to make a few technical adjustments to be successful in England. This tour was a big platform for him, and I thought that by getting out on 70s and 40s, he wasted his chance, which he himself would admit. It shows that you can’t take anything for granted in England,” analysed Ramiz.
“The good thing is that when Babar bats, he looks aesthetically beautiful to watch. He plays the cover and on drive well, he has time to play his shots. He didn’t get the big numbers in England, but the moment he walks in and starts his innings, you know that there’s quality to him. He needs to get side on a bit, his backfoot and his body gets opened up a bit, which may give him problem against an outswinger, but it’s not a big issue. I just want him to keep learning, because he does do that, he won’t become a big player,” says former Pakistan opener-turned commentator Ramiz Raza, in an interaction (set up by Sony Six) with TOI.
Raza feels that Babar needs to become a “match-winner like Kohli.”
“This Pakistan batting line-up needs him to score massively. What he has to do is become a match-winner now. He needs to learn that from Kohli. And he’s got the potential. He’s only 25. I feel that with time, he’ll get better. In 1992, when we toured England, Inzamam-ul-Haq didn’t get any (big) score at all, and look at where his career ended, so it’s not that this is the end of Babar, that he was tested against the moving ball and didn’t deliver properly. Next time when he goes to England, it will be a bit like Kohli — he will be more at home playing swing and seam,” analyses Rameez.
Ramiz feels that Pakistan need to play Babar at No 3, and not No 4, to get the best out of him. “He needs to bat at No 3. I don’t agree with the logic that he should be batting at No 4 since he’s Pakistan’s best batsman. He’s the only batsman in the world to feature in the top five in all the formats. He can adjust, take responsibility, so why put him under pressure when two wickets have gone down? Get him in when there’s less pressure on him and the team,” he feels.
Like many, Rameez feels its unfair to compare Babar with Kohli right now. “The comparison with Virat is not justified. Virat is a match-winner. Babar has played only a handful of Tests. He’s finding his way through international circuit. However, it must be great for him to be compared to Kohli. I don’t think that it brings pressure on him. He should be encouraged, enthused to be like Kohli. To be compared to Virat is a compliment, not a pressure situation. I don’t think that when he goes to out bat, he thinks about that comparison. What he looks at is the ball, to adapt to the conditions, and what the team demands,” outlines Ramiz.
He feels that Azhar Ali’s match-saving hundred in the third Test helped the Pakistan captain “earn respect in the dressing room.” “I had tweeted that every hundred is close to a batsman’s heart. However, this was a dressing room respect earner. That’s because one you lose respect in that dressing room, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you. I think that his presence was being challenged in the dressing room, because he wasn’t scoring runs, Pakistan were at the receiving end, going 1-0 down, so from that point of view it was an important innings. He adjusted really well, which is so difficult to do in the middle of a series. Your technical issues can absolutely let you down mentally, plus (there was) the added pressure of captaining Pakistan,” he praises.
Ramiz cautioned Pakistan to use 17-year-old fast bowler Naseem Shah carefully. “He needs to be used carefully because he’s just 17. He’s (already) broken down twice in his young career. You don’t overload such a kid. I’d rather have him play Test cricket, and not worry about T20s, which is a different game altogether. It has a different pulse, line and length, there’s a lot more pressure on you. So, instead of building his pressure, you’re testing his resolve by playing him in T20s. I’d rather not have him playing T20 cricket and look after him for Tests,” he feels.
Ramiz feels that Pakistan need to focus on how they play as a team, rather than think about individual performances. “I think what Pakistan needs to do is look away from individual brilliance and try to win matches. It’s a team sport and at the end of the day people look at your team record. Of late, Pakistan haven’t produced great form on away tours. After losing in South Africa and Australia, this was our third loss on the trot, even though we competed well in general, barring letting themselves down for a couple of hours in the first Test where they didn’t play well and lost that game. The emphasis has got to be on the team itself. If you’re winning, then your bad performances get hidden, but if you’re not winning, then every little error of yours is exposed. So, this is the shift that Pakistan need to make now, if they want to survive well in Test cricket. They need to look at their team record, find a way how to win matches, both home and away,” feels Ramiz.
Analaysing Pakistan’s failures which saw them lose the recently-concluded Test series 1-0 to England, Ramiz said: “We former Pakistan players were hurt that Pakistan lost this series, because we had the potential, especially in our bowling, to win it. Pakistan hadn’t lost a Test series in England in a decade. However, we must keep in mind that our pacers are young. Naseem Shah in 17, Shaheen Afridi is 20. The problem was that they were able to move the ball as much as the English bowlers. Maybe it was a problem of the wrist position, or of temperament. They put in the 100 % effort, which must’ve pleased the captain, but the style of execution wasn’t right. This is where the coaching staff needs to work hard. You can work with youth, not experienced players. They have the potential, but they need to learn the ‘pulse’ of the game — how to move the ball, use angles, bowl bouncers.
“There are problems in our batting too, which has technical issues. Pakistan plays 70 % of its cricket at home, so the batsmen’s habits are set — they won’t get the challenge of English conditions back home. When you keep playing away from home, like Pakistan have done for the past decade, then your confidence doesn’t grow. You win less. Its tough to win away from home.
“However, my issue with the Pakistan team is that they compete in the first Test, and then their performance keeps nose-dives progressively. The same thing happened in South Africa, then Australia, and then in England, where we were following on by the third Test. No one is saying that we should win 3-0, but we want Pakistan to be competitive on away tours.”
Rameez felt that young cricketers around the world need to follow the example of James Anderson, who earlier this week became the first fast bowler to take 600 wickets in Test cricket. “Anderson should be a big example for out youngsters who don’t want to play Test cricket, preferring white-ball formats of the game. I believe that if you want to win the ‘Oscar’ of cricket, then Test cricket is your theatre. Thanks to the almighty, our legends are becoming legends from Test cricket. This is a good trend because in Test cricket, you need to work harder. Your will, passion, fitness and temperament all get tested in Test cricket. Anderson is a big example to our youth that if you want to make your name in cricket, then put your blinkers on and play Test cricket. It’s only in Test cricket that you can become a legend of the game. One has to praised both Anderson and Stuart Broad. At the age of 38, Anderson still wants to play international cricket,” complemented Ramiz, who played 57 Tests and 198 ODIs for Pakistan.
Ramiz also praised Anderson’s ability to not appear rusty in Tests despite the fact that he he doesn’t play limited over formats. “The amazing thing I that you’ll never find him rusty. He doesn’t play other formats of the game, but you’ll find him switched on from the first Test itself, with his fitness, action and line and length — everything spot on. In our part of the world, cricketers who retire one format of the game takes time before he gets going in the other format. The ‘engine’ takes time,” gushed Ramiz.
Paying rich tributes to MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement recently from international cricket, Raza said: “When such players start retiring, you start feeling how old you’ve become! Afterall, I’ve commentated from his first match and his last! One doesn’t come to know about time! There are two three qualities about Dhoni that I found extraordinary — to remain calm under pressure, be a match-winner. Having faith in his abilities, and he was one of the best DRS readers of the world.
Talking about his captaincy, Ramiz said: “I didn’t understand his captaincy a few times, but he was street-smart. As commentators, we would calculate what he’s trying to do, but he would beat us too! I liked his style of captaincy — there wasn’t much use of body language. Like other wicketkeepers, he wouldn’t scream from behind the stumps. He played his cricket in a graceful manner. Whenever you’ll write the iconic moments of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni would feature in them. It’s been a remarkable career. I remember that when he came to Pakistan for the first time, general Pervez Musharraf (who was the president of Pakistan then) called him over for tea. He had asked Dhoni not to cut his hair. The best thing about cricket is that you’ve got fans from a chowkidar (guard) to a president. You can walk in and out of a room confidently, because your career is black and white. Dhoni’s achievements in cricket would be etched in golden words. He was an entertainer — it wasn’t as if he was a defensive captain or player. He will be missed a lot as he was a hero to a lot of people.”
Talking about the battles which could decide the T20I series between Pakistan and England, Ramiz says:
“It’s about how Pakistan bowl, basically. If you see Pakistan’s squad, there are a lot of one-paced fast bowlers. I didn’t see a lot of variety in the Pakistan bowling attack. The real battle will be how they cope with the batting pressure that will be exerted by England, who play fearlessly in T20 cricket. So, it will be a strong challenge for some of the young kids of Pakistan. Guys like Naseem Shah and Hasnain will be tested. I’m hoping that Pakistan field better, and also come up with a bit of variety, a, left-arm angle, slower balls can be helpful against England. But the real challenge for Pakistan will be how they bowl against this strong England batting line-up.
Offering his take on how the cricket world can bid to overcome the crisis caused by Covid-19, Ramiz says: “The financial part of the game is stressed. Cricket should start soon, even if it is in abio-secure environment. You’ve to be a bit brave and control the system and win confidence, because I think this situation will be there in cricket for a year or two. It’s not an easy situation for the fans or the cricket boards, but we must try to somehow reposition ourselves during Covid-19.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...rat-kohli-ramiz-raza/articleshow/77784861.cms
But the draw meant that England, who already had 1-0 lead, had won the three-match Test series. Speaking in a video uploaded on his Youtube channel, Raja pointed fingers at the senior players in the team and asked them what is their role in the team.
“There are problems in the Pakistan camp, not just of late but from a while now as far as away tours are concerned. This year we lost to South Africa, Australia and now England. We compete in the first Test but progressively our form tapers off as the series progresses,” Raja said.
“What is the role of senior players? Will they keep on failing and will we still keep playing them? Why are we hesitant to bring in new players, especially batsmen?
“Decision making has to be strong. Experimentation and ruthless strong decision is the only way up,” the Pakistan batting legend added.
Raja also went on to praise England fast bowler James Anderson for his performance who picked his 600th Test wicket in the match, becoming the first pacer to reach the mark.
“James Anderson got his 600th wicket by dismissing Azhar Ali and became the first fast bowler to reach 600 Test wickets. His performance is like someone who has successfully climbed Mount Everest.
“James Anderson gave respect to Test cricket and thus he got respect in return. He wanted to become a great Test player and so he became,” Raja signed off.
England and Pakistan will play three-match T20 series against England starting from August 28th.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/cric...series-loss/story-TaCIqvNlm5hfASMtnrKXAL.html
==
MUMBAI: Even though he slammed an unbeaten fifty in the second innings of the final Test against England, fans of Pakistan’s latest batting star Babar Azam were left slightly disappointed by lack of big hundreds off his bat in the recently-concluded series. Babar stroked 195 runs in three Tests@48.75 with two fifties under his belt, but much more was expected from a batsman who is often compared to Indian captain Virat Kohli, arguably the best in the business.
“You see, batting wasn’t easy in England, because these were good bowling conditions. This would’ve been a great learning curve for somebody like Babar. You know that he’s got class and quality. It’s a matter of time before he converts that class into numbers. His record is upwardly mobile. What he has to learn is to curb his natural instinct which is to go hard at the ball when it is pitched up. In England, you’ve got to be very careful and watch the ball right till the end. There, your approach has to be that you can get out any ball, and block the ball accordingly. In the sub-continent, if you reach 40, no one can get you out. In England and Australia, you’ve to respect the bowler, ball and the pitch. He needs to learn these things. He needs to make a few technical adjustments to be successful in England. This tour was a big platform for him, and I thought that by getting out on 70s and 40s, he wasted his chance, which he himself would admit. It shows that you can’t take anything for granted in England,” analysed Ramiz.
“The good thing is that when Babar bats, he looks aesthetically beautiful to watch. He plays the cover and on drive well, he has time to play his shots. He didn’t get the big numbers in England, but the moment he walks in and starts his innings, you know that there’s quality to him. He needs to get side on a bit, his backfoot and his body gets opened up a bit, which may give him problem against an outswinger, but it’s not a big issue. I just want him to keep learning, because he does do that, he won’t become a big player,” says former Pakistan opener-turned commentator Ramiz Raza, in an interaction (set up by Sony Six) with TOI.
Raza feels that Babar needs to become a “match-winner like Kohli.”
“This Pakistan batting line-up needs him to score massively. What he has to do is become a match-winner now. He needs to learn that from Kohli. And he’s got the potential. He’s only 25. I feel that with time, he’ll get better. In 1992, when we toured England, Inzamam-ul-Haq didn’t get any (big) score at all, and look at where his career ended, so it’s not that this is the end of Babar, that he was tested against the moving ball and didn’t deliver properly. Next time when he goes to England, it will be a bit like Kohli — he will be more at home playing swing and seam,” analyses Rameez.
Ramiz feels that Pakistan need to play Babar at No 3, and not No 4, to get the best out of him. “He needs to bat at No 3. I don’t agree with the logic that he should be batting at No 4 since he’s Pakistan’s best batsman. He’s the only batsman in the world to feature in the top five in all the formats. He can adjust, take responsibility, so why put him under pressure when two wickets have gone down? Get him in when there’s less pressure on him and the team,” he feels.
Like many, Rameez feels its unfair to compare Babar with Kohli right now. “The comparison with Virat is not justified. Virat is a match-winner. Babar has played only a handful of Tests. He’s finding his way through international circuit. However, it must be great for him to be compared to Kohli. I don’t think that it brings pressure on him. He should be encouraged, enthused to be like Kohli. To be compared to Virat is a compliment, not a pressure situation. I don’t think that when he goes to out bat, he thinks about that comparison. What he looks at is the ball, to adapt to the conditions, and what the team demands,” outlines Ramiz.
He feels that Azhar Ali’s match-saving hundred in the third Test helped the Pakistan captain “earn respect in the dressing room.” “I had tweeted that every hundred is close to a batsman’s heart. However, this was a dressing room respect earner. That’s because one you lose respect in that dressing room, that’s the worst thing that can happen to you. I think that his presence was being challenged in the dressing room, because he wasn’t scoring runs, Pakistan were at the receiving end, going 1-0 down, so from that point of view it was an important innings. He adjusted really well, which is so difficult to do in the middle of a series. Your technical issues can absolutely let you down mentally, plus (there was) the added pressure of captaining Pakistan,” he praises.
Ramiz cautioned Pakistan to use 17-year-old fast bowler Naseem Shah carefully. “He needs to be used carefully because he’s just 17. He’s (already) broken down twice in his young career. You don’t overload such a kid. I’d rather have him play Test cricket, and not worry about T20s, which is a different game altogether. It has a different pulse, line and length, there’s a lot more pressure on you. So, instead of building his pressure, you’re testing his resolve by playing him in T20s. I’d rather not have him playing T20 cricket and look after him for Tests,” he feels.
Ramiz feels that Pakistan need to focus on how they play as a team, rather than think about individual performances. “I think what Pakistan needs to do is look away from individual brilliance and try to win matches. It’s a team sport and at the end of the day people look at your team record. Of late, Pakistan haven’t produced great form on away tours. After losing in South Africa and Australia, this was our third loss on the trot, even though we competed well in general, barring letting themselves down for a couple of hours in the first Test where they didn’t play well and lost that game. The emphasis has got to be on the team itself. If you’re winning, then your bad performances get hidden, but if you’re not winning, then every little error of yours is exposed. So, this is the shift that Pakistan need to make now, if they want to survive well in Test cricket. They need to look at their team record, find a way how to win matches, both home and away,” feels Ramiz.
Analaysing Pakistan’s failures which saw them lose the recently-concluded Test series 1-0 to England, Ramiz said: “We former Pakistan players were hurt that Pakistan lost this series, because we had the potential, especially in our bowling, to win it. Pakistan hadn’t lost a Test series in England in a decade. However, we must keep in mind that our pacers are young. Naseem Shah in 17, Shaheen Afridi is 20. The problem was that they were able to move the ball as much as the English bowlers. Maybe it was a problem of the wrist position, or of temperament. They put in the 100 % effort, which must’ve pleased the captain, but the style of execution wasn’t right. This is where the coaching staff needs to work hard. You can work with youth, not experienced players. They have the potential, but they need to learn the ‘pulse’ of the game — how to move the ball, use angles, bowl bouncers.
“There are problems in our batting too, which has technical issues. Pakistan plays 70 % of its cricket at home, so the batsmen’s habits are set — they won’t get the challenge of English conditions back home. When you keep playing away from home, like Pakistan have done for the past decade, then your confidence doesn’t grow. You win less. Its tough to win away from home.
“However, my issue with the Pakistan team is that they compete in the first Test, and then their performance keeps nose-dives progressively. The same thing happened in South Africa, then Australia, and then in England, where we were following on by the third Test. No one is saying that we should win 3-0, but we want Pakistan to be competitive on away tours.”
Rameez felt that young cricketers around the world need to follow the example of James Anderson, who earlier this week became the first fast bowler to take 600 wickets in Test cricket. “Anderson should be a big example for out youngsters who don’t want to play Test cricket, preferring white-ball formats of the game. I believe that if you want to win the ‘Oscar’ of cricket, then Test cricket is your theatre. Thanks to the almighty, our legends are becoming legends from Test cricket. This is a good trend because in Test cricket, you need to work harder. Your will, passion, fitness and temperament all get tested in Test cricket. Anderson is a big example to our youth that if you want to make your name in cricket, then put your blinkers on and play Test cricket. It’s only in Test cricket that you can become a legend of the game. One has to praised both Anderson and Stuart Broad. At the age of 38, Anderson still wants to play international cricket,” complemented Ramiz, who played 57 Tests and 198 ODIs for Pakistan.
Ramiz also praised Anderson’s ability to not appear rusty in Tests despite the fact that he he doesn’t play limited over formats. “The amazing thing I that you’ll never find him rusty. He doesn’t play other formats of the game, but you’ll find him switched on from the first Test itself, with his fitness, action and line and length — everything spot on. In our part of the world, cricketers who retire one format of the game takes time before he gets going in the other format. The ‘engine’ takes time,” gushed Ramiz.
Paying rich tributes to MS Dhoni, who announced his retirement recently from international cricket, Raza said: “When such players start retiring, you start feeling how old you’ve become! Afterall, I’ve commentated from his first match and his last! One doesn’t come to know about time! There are two three qualities about Dhoni that I found extraordinary — to remain calm under pressure, be a match-winner. Having faith in his abilities, and he was one of the best DRS readers of the world.
Talking about his captaincy, Ramiz said: “I didn’t understand his captaincy a few times, but he was street-smart. As commentators, we would calculate what he’s trying to do, but he would beat us too! I liked his style of captaincy — there wasn’t much use of body language. Like other wicketkeepers, he wouldn’t scream from behind the stumps. He played his cricket in a graceful manner. Whenever you’ll write the iconic moments of Indian cricket, MS Dhoni would feature in them. It’s been a remarkable career. I remember that when he came to Pakistan for the first time, general Pervez Musharraf (who was the president of Pakistan then) called him over for tea. He had asked Dhoni not to cut his hair. The best thing about cricket is that you’ve got fans from a chowkidar (guard) to a president. You can walk in and out of a room confidently, because your career is black and white. Dhoni’s achievements in cricket would be etched in golden words. He was an entertainer — it wasn’t as if he was a defensive captain or player. He will be missed a lot as he was a hero to a lot of people.”
Talking about the battles which could decide the T20I series between Pakistan and England, Ramiz says:
“It’s about how Pakistan bowl, basically. If you see Pakistan’s squad, there are a lot of one-paced fast bowlers. I didn’t see a lot of variety in the Pakistan bowling attack. The real battle will be how they cope with the batting pressure that will be exerted by England, who play fearlessly in T20 cricket. So, it will be a strong challenge for some of the young kids of Pakistan. Guys like Naseem Shah and Hasnain will be tested. I’m hoping that Pakistan field better, and also come up with a bit of variety, a, left-arm angle, slower balls can be helpful against England. But the real challenge for Pakistan will be how they bowl against this strong England batting line-up.
Offering his take on how the cricket world can bid to overcome the crisis caused by Covid-19, Ramiz says: “The financial part of the game is stressed. Cricket should start soon, even if it is in abio-secure environment. You’ve to be a bit brave and control the system and win confidence, because I think this situation will be there in cricket for a year or two. It’s not an easy situation for the fans or the cricket boards, but we must try to somehow reposition ourselves during Covid-19.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com...rat-kohli-ramiz-raza/articleshow/77784861.cms
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