File image of Babar Azam (right) and Shaheen Shah Afridi.© AFP

Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and cricketer Ramiz Raja has slammed the Pakistan team after their group stage exit at the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pinpointing the many different aspects in which they were lacking, Ramiz Raja used the term “mind-boggling” to highlight the poor decision-making during the tournament. After a shock loss to co-hosts USA and then defeat to arch-nemesis India, Pakistan failed to make the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup. As a result, their qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup is also not guaranteed.

“There was no consistency in selection, their preparation was hodgepodge because they didn’t know who was going to open the innings, and they were in experimental mode for a very long time,” said Ramiz Raja, in his first criticism of the team.

Pakistan went with the experienced duo of Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam at the top at the start of the tournament, leaving out young Saim Ayub, a decision that brought in criticism from experts.

“They even had to recall retired players,” said Raja, pointing at the re-selection of pacer Mohammed Amir.

“There were also changes in the PCB, and changes as captain,” he added. Ramiz Raja was the chairman of the PCB from September 2021 to December 2022, a period in which Pakistan reached the semi-finals and final of consecutive T20 World Cups.

Recently, former India cricketer-turned-expert Sanjay Manjrekar had jokingly suggested that perhaps Ramiz Raja should replace Babar Azam as captain, as Pakistan usually “go to him to save them”.

“You’ve got to sort out the order up here,” said Raja, pointing towards his head. Critiquing the game awareness and mentality of the Pakistan players, he pointed out the decision of letting left-hander Fakhar Zaman face left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar in the Super Over against USA.

Despite wins over Canada and Ireland, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super 8 stage, following their two early defeats.

Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja slammed the management following Pakistan’s 2-0 T20I series defeat against England just before the T20 World Cup. At Kennington Oval, England outplayed Pakistan in all facets of the game by chasing down 158 with more than four overs to spare in the 4th T20I. Pakistan lacked firepower in their middle order and missed the magic from the pacers while defending their target. Ramiz has voiced his concerns regarding the experimentation in Pakistan’s white-ball setup. Once again he lambasted the management for the consequences that the decision to experiment has led to.

“They should stop experimenting with the team. Go into a game with a proper combination. You need to get out of the phobia of strike rate because you don’t have that kind of players. Aapne is team ka satyanash kar diya hai (You have completely made a cock-up of this team),” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

Ramiz has been quite vocal about the introduction of Saim Ayub in the opening slot. The record-breaking opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan was broken during Mohammad Hafeez’s short-lived stint as Pakistan’s director of cricket.

Ayub’s time in the opening slot hasn’t fared well since he came in at the top of the order. Along with the opening slot, Pakistan’s middle order has struggled to muster up runs in critical conditions.

“You have ruined the team by breaking the opening pair (of Babar and Rizwan). The role of the middle order is not defined. You have put all-rounders in the middle and two wicket-keepers are playing. You are changing the fast bowlers. Your spinners don’t spin the ball and don’t have the confidence. You put Imad Wasim out of the playing XI. There is no sideways movement and you have completely dismantled the team just before the T20 World Cup,” he added.

Ayub struggled to put up runs against New Zealand in the T20I series last month but he showed signs of improvement with a quick-paced knock of 45(29) in the first T20I. In four matches against the Blackcaps, the 21-year-old scored 52 runs at an average of 14.25 with 32 as his highest score in the series.

Before Ayub, Babar and Rizwan were the designated openers for the Men in Green. They were one of the most prolific openers in the T20I set-up for Pakistan. The seasoned duo recorded a record-breaking 105-run stand which was their third-century partnership in the last edition of the Men’s T20I World Cup in 2022.

Pakistan are placed in Group A alongside arch-rival India, Canada, USA and Ireland. The Men in Green will begin their campaign against the co-hosts USA on Thursday at the Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas.

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan.

After Pakistan suffered a 23-run defeat against England, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja stated that the Men in Green need to bring back the previous opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and captain Babar Azam. Raja also stated that the “undercooked” Saim Ayub, who opened with Rizwan in the second T20I against England, should be benched because due to him the “entire combination has been disturbed.” Engalnd captain Jos Buttler’s half-century and Reece Topley and Jofra Archer’s fine spells powered the home side to a 23-run win over Pakistan in the second T20I at Birmingham on Saturday.

With this win, England take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series. The first game was washed out due to rain.

The former PCB chief said Pakistan needed to compete better to win the match but they made many mistakes which caused them the game.

“Win or lose is part of the game but Pakistan could’ve competed better and may have even won at the end but they made mistakes. First, let’s identify the problem areas for Pakistan,” Raja said on YouTube.

Raja said Pakistan should bench Ayub as he is “undercooked” and the batter has been given too many chances to do better in international cricket, however, he still underperforms. In the match, Ayub only managed to score two runs in 7 balls and fell prey to England’s star pacer Reece Topley.

This is not the first time the youngster struggled in international cricket. He struggled to put up runs against New Zealand in the T20I series last month but Ayub showed signs of improvement with a quick-paced knock of 45(29) in the first T20I. In four matches against the Blackcaps, the 21-year-old scored 52 runs at an average of 14.25 with 32 as his highest score in the series.

Before Ayub, Babar and Rizwan were the designated openers for the Men in Green and they were one of the most prolific openers in the white ball set-up as well. The seasoned duo recorded a record-breaking stand of 105-run stand which was their third-century partnership in the last edition of the Men’s T20I World Cup in 2022.

“First, Saim Ayub coming as an opener. I don’t think Pakistan should continue with Saim. He has been given too many chances and you have to do better in [international] cricket. He is undercooked. You need to revert to the opening pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam because that is Pakistan’s strength and they understand each other’s game. The entire combination has been disturbed due to Saim,” he added.

Meanwhile, the action of the four-match T20I series will shift at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff where the hosts England will take on Pakistan in the third game on Tuesday.

Saim Ayub in action© Twitter