Pakistan will host a first major cricket tournament in almost three decades from Wednesday in a move hailed as a landmark just a few years after the country was off-limits because of security fears. Staging the Champions Trophy in three cities over the next two-and-a-half weeks will be a huge boost to the South Asian nation’s reputation if authorities can pull it off smoothly and safely. “Convincing the world that Pakistan is a safe country and that it is capable of delivering such a global event from an administration point of view took serious hard work and convincing,” former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja told AFP.

“The world eventually understood our viewpoint,” said Raja, under whose tenure the event was awarded in 2021.

The build-up has not been without problems after neighbours and arch-rivals India refused to play in Pakistan over long-standing political tensions.

A powerhouse of the sport on and off the pitch, India will instead play their matches in Dubai, but the other seven countries will be based in Pakistan.

The country has stepped up security, especially in host cities Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, even if attacks in major cities are increasingly rare.

Pakistan had been due to host the Champions Trophy, the premier ODI event after the World Cup, in 2008.

It was instead staged in South Africa a year later because of a security crisis that spilled over from the war in neighbouring Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks.

Pakistan became a no-go zone for international sides in 2009 after Islamist gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s team in Lahore, wounding several players and killing eight policemen and civilians.   

But since a sweeping military crackdown that started in 2014 and lasted several years, security has vastly improved.

Test cricket returned to Pakistan in 2019 and Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa later toured the country, helping Pakistan’s bid to host the tournament. 

Those teams will all be in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

‘Terrorism took everything’

For 77-year-old businessman Haji Abdul Razzak, a global event coming back to Pakistan is like another birthday. 

The last time Pakistan held a major international cricket tournament was as co-hosts, with India and Sri Lanka, in 1996.

Razzak raised the Sri Lankan flag on March 17, 1996 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore when the islanders defeated Australia to clinch the title.

Twenty-nine years later the cricket fanatic will attend the opening match of the Champions Trophy in Karachi on Wednesday between holders Pakistan and New Zealand. 

“It is fresh in my mind,” a teary-eyed Razzak told AFP. “My country was thriving back then and cricket was on everyone’s mind.”

He added: “Terrorism took everything away from us. I am overjoyed to see a global event coming back to our country and I am feeling like it will be my birthday.” 

Although militancy is still a threat in Pakistan, the violence is nearly entirely limited to the remote border regions from north to south, far away from the stadiums.

With the capital Islamabad placed in lockdown, Pakistan recently hosted a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and a global meeting on girls’ education, raising its profile on the international stage. 

As a test case for its readiness, Pakistan last week staged a tri-series with New Zealand and South Africa and crowds flocked to the recently renovated stadiums in Lahore and Karachi.

Raja, a former Pakistan captain who played in the 1987 World Cup hosted by Pakistan and India, said holding the Champions Trophy has enormous significance that goes beyond sport. 

“This Champions Trophy is a crucial step toward normalising its standing in the global cricket community,” he said.

“It’s also about national pride and sending a strong message about resilience and determination. 

“It is about youth engagement, cultural promotion and building a global image.

“Now the onus is on us to deliver.” 

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja launched a scathing tirade after Pakistan, for the first time in 34 years, lost a Test against the West Indies on home turf. After ending Bazball’s dominance with a 2-1 series win against England last year, Men in Green thought they had cracked the formula for victory at home – producing a turning strip. The trend of competing on spin paradise continued during the two-match Test series against the West Indies. 

In the opening Test, the Caribbean side withered on Multan’s surface, where the ball spun right from the opening hour. But after losing the series opener, the West Indies upped the ante in the second Test, especially on the batting front and bounced back with a 120-run victory, their first in 34 years in Pakistan.

According to Ramiz, the frustrating thing about the Pakistan team is dropping the tempo against weak opposition, a mistake that the former cricketer doesn’t expect from the Asian side.

“It is hard to justify this defeat. When you prepare such a brutal spin track, it becomes a lottery. So winning the toss becomes an important thing, and every inning becomes important. The frustrating thing about Pakistan Cricket is against the top teams, we play in top gear, but against weak teams, we drop our standard. Novice mistakes. You don’t expect such mistakes from Pakistan cricket, especially from batters,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

In the opening Test, the beleaguered West Indies side tried to resist Pakistan’s spin prowess but eventually succumbed to a 127-run defeat. Even after suffering a bitter loss, the expression ona the faces of the West Indies players suggested that they had figured out their next plan of action.

But in the second game, signs pointing towards Pakistan’s defeat were all over the place when the visiting party won the toss and decided to bat. A fiery stand from the tail-end lifted the West Indies from 38/7 to 163.

With a slender 9-run lead, the West Indies captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, blazed his way to a valuable 52(73) to propel his side to a competitive total of 244.

Sajid Khan, who has been at the forefront of Pakistan’s recent home success, wavered in his line and lengths and leaked runs throughout his spell. Even the batters couldn’t use their feet to negate the spin threat.

Ramiz was quick to note the flaws in Pakistan’s underwhelming performance in Multan and added, “Things can’t be taken for granted. Spinners gave away runs, and the batting lineup was disappointing. You have to think whether the batters can survive or not. Nobody was expecting that the West Indies would end the second Test on Day 3 and leave with a series draw.”

File image of Shaheen Afridi and Babar Azam.© AFP

Ramiz Raja in an interview with Shan Masood© X (Twitter)

Mohammad Amir slammed Ramiz Raja’s interview with Shan Masood© X (Twitter)

Former Pakistan cricket captain Mohammad Hafeez did not hold back his feelings as Pakistan completed a stunning comeback and sealed a 2-1 home series win against England. Pakistan rode on the performances of spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali — two players who had been brought back into the side in the middle of the series — to defeat England. Hafeez made a tweet that was cryptic in nature as he spoke about ‘exposing faces’. While it is unclear as to whom the tweet was directed at, fans interpreted that it may be something to do with star Pakistan batter Babar Azam, who was dropped mid-series.

“Two faces, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, with star impactful performances brought home series win for Pakistan after more than three years. More importantly, their performances exposed many faces,” posted Hafeez on X.

Two faces Sajid khan & Noman Ali with star impactful performances brought home series win for Pakistan after more than 3 years. More importantly their performances exposed many faces… pic.twitter.com/rioe1uFXnm

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) October 26, 2024

After losing the first Test in Multan, Pakistan dropped Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from the Test side. In their place, Kamran Ghulam, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali were brought in. While Ghulam scored a century on debut, Sajid and Noman have taken a combined 39 out of the 40 wickets in the two Tests, leading Pakistan to victory.

Some fans took Hafeez’s tweet as a shot at Babar Azam, whose dropping came with a lot of criticism.

exposed many faces and the fact that hyping selfish players for stats and PR is wrong, it should only be for their passion for country. pic.twitter.com/1RaoafUNbc

— \o/era (@LoyalAfridian10) October 26, 2024

Hafeez had served as Pakistan’s team director and interim coach between November 2023 and February 2024, before he was removed due to Pakistan’s poor results.

Pakistan bundled out England for just 112 on Day 3 of the third Test. Their final target was merely 36, which they chased down in 3.1 overs. It is their first home series win since February 2021.

The win takes Pakistan up to seventh spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle table, while England fall to sixth.

Babar Azam‘s removal from Pakistan’s Test squad for the second match against England sent shockwaves across the cricketing fraternity. The superstar batter paid the price of a string of inconsistent performances as the newly constituted Pakistan Cricket Board national selection committee sprung into action. Pakistan great Ramiz Raja, however, isn’t impressed with the selectors’ decision, calling it a’ knee jerk reaction’. For Ramiz, Babar’s absence from the team makes no sense as he isn’t just an important player for the team but also a brand which brings Pakistan cricket money.

“I think it was a knee-jerk reaction [by the] new selectors. The general opinion was that he needed rest and he was taken out of the squad completely,” Ramiz said in a chat on Sky Cricket.

“We need to understand that he sells cricket for Pakistan. There’s always this debate that is happening right now in Pakistan – whether there’s going to be another failure for Babar Azam or whether he’s going to make a comeback. And that keeps things interesting,” he added.

Ramiz Raja Blackmailing PCB?

“Pakistan’s cricket team relies heavily on Babar Azam’s prowess to attract sponsors. Unfortunately, aside from him, there’s a lack of marketable talent and superstar appeal in the current Test squad.”pic.twitter.com/XpCvFI0CFp

— Imran Siddique (@imransiddique89) October 15, 2024

Babar isn’t the only Pakistan star who was dropped, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah also suffering the same fate. In the trio’s absence, Ramiz feels Pakistan’s XI against England for the second Test doesn’t even have a ‘sellable commodity’, which isn’t a good thing from the sponsorship perspective.

“Right now, I don’t see any sellable commodity in this Pakistan team … sponsors are a little wary as well because a) Pakistan have been on the losing sequence and b) There are no real superstars playing in this Test match now.”

At the time of toss in the second Test, Pakistan skipper Shan Masood also spoke about the three star players’ absence, admitting that certain matters are beyond his control.

“I think firstly playing a Test match for Pakistan is a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to be a cricketer so we’re all excited and there’s some rejuvenated energy in the camp,” Shan Masood said.

“There’s stuff we can’t control but we can control what we do on the field,” he said on the team selection. We’re very positive about this. We’re happy the spinners have some conditions were we can show we have some decent spinners,” he added.

Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja opened up on Ravichandran Ashwin’s performance in the India-Bangladesh Test series and said that the 38-year-old has not received the kind of status as an all-rounder that he deserves. In the recently concluded two-match Test series, Ashwin picked 11 wickets; he was also the highest wicket-taker along with Jasprit Bumrah. With the bat, he scored 114 runs at a strike rate of 83.21 in the two-match series. Ashwin was also named the ‘Player of the Series’ following his stunning display against the visitors.

The India spinner played a crucial 113-run knock from 133 balls in the first inning against Bangladesh in the Chennai Test. The 38-year-old bagged a six-wicket haul in the second inning, which helped the hosts clinch a 280-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test match.

Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Ramiz said that it was an amazing Test series for Ashwin against Bangladesh. The former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman also praised the India spinner’s performance in the Chennai Test.

“See how the bowlers supported Rohit Sharma in this victory innings. Fast bowlers dominated in the first inning and spinners shined in the second inning. It was an amazing Test series for Ashwin. He scoring a century at home and also taking six wickets is an amazing mastery and an amazing all-round ability, perhaps he has not got the kind of status in cricket that he should get as an all-rounder,” Ramiz said.

The former cricketer added that the 38-year-old doesn’t make any drama and performs at every opportunity.

“Ashwin is no less than anyone else, he scores century at every opportunity, and takes wickets at every opportunity and doesn’t show too much pride, doesn’t make any drama after taking a wicket, doesn’t make any drama after scoring a century,” he added.

Talking about India’s series win over Bangladesh, Ramiz Raja said that Rohit Sharma’s side is the strongest team to beat on their home soil.

“India won the Test match easily against Bangladesh. At this point, India is the strongest team to beat on their home soil… Bangladesh had to do a lot to give a tough time to such a successful team because winning a Test match can only be a dream for any visiting team. Bangladesh didn’t have the capacity to challenge India…,” he further added.

Recapping the match, after two days of missed action, Bangladesh, having put to bat first by India, resumed their innings on day four. Momimul Haque (107 in 194 balls, with 17 fours and a six) hit a century that took Bangladesh to 233. Jasprit Bumrah picked up three, while Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin and Akash Deep picked up two. Ravindra Jadeja got one scalp.

With a relentless hunger for piling up runs on the board, India went after Bangladesh bowlers and declared on a score of 285/9. Yashasvi Jaiswal (72 in 51 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) and KL Rahul (68 in 43 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) hit quickfire fifties while Rohit (23), Virat Kohli (47) and Shubman Gill (39) also played quickfire knocks. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib al Hasan picked up four wickets each.

With a 52-run lead, India’s bowlers delivered a performance that forced the visitors to scamper for survival. Shadnam Islam did score a half-century, but Bangladesh folded on 146. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Bumrah got three scalps each.

India comfortably chased down the target of 95 runs and clinched a 7-wicket win, with Jaiswal (51 in 45 balls with eight fours and a six) and Virat (29 in 37 balls, with four boundaries) being key scorers.

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah played a pivotal role in India’s triumph at the T20 World Cup 2024. Rohit Sharma and co had an outstanding run at the World Cup as the remained unbeatable throughout the tournament. In the final match, they defeated South Africa by seven runs and clinched the title. Bumrah, who scalped 15 wickets, bagged the Player of the Tournament award. With his fiery pace and on-point yorkers, Bumrah brought Team India out from the jaws of defeat on numerous occasions. It won’t be wrong to say Bumrah is currently one of the greatest fast bowlers in the world. 

Not just in T20Is but Bumrah is equally effective in ODIs and Tests as well. Recently, former Pakistan skipper Ramiz Raja lavished praise on the India pacer, calling him a “legend of all three formats. 

“In my book, Jasprit Bumrah is a legend in all three formats. There is no one greater who has played all three formats. So you can see, where this boy came from, he lacked confidence, had an awkward bowling action. He was unfit, but he came back, and now he has made India win the World Cup,” Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube channel.

Co-incidentally, Ramiz’s statement came after an old video of India’s new head coach Gautam Gambhir started surfacing online, where he was seen talking about having more all-format players in the pool. 

“I’m a very strong believer in one thing, that if you’re good, you should be playing all the three formats. I’ve never been a big believer in injury management, that you get injured, you go get recovered. As simple as it gets. When you’re playing international cricket and you’re good enough, you ask any of the top players, they want to play all the three formats. They don’t want to stay and they don’t want to be labelled as red-ball bowler or white-ball bowler,” Gambhir said in the video. 

Talking about the current team, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have announced their retirement from the T20Is after the World Cup. In the shortest format, Team India is going through a transformation as currently a fresh-looking team is facing Zimbabwe in a five-match series. 

Team India is being led by Shubman Gill and it features debutants like Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, and Dhruv Jurel.