After the team lost the second One-Day International (ODI) against New Zealand on January 11 in Karachi, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja recently made fun of Babar Azam and the rest of the team.
Raja emphasized that vice-captain Shan Masood was once again benched and that the openers struggled to produce under duress. Despite being designated as Babar Azam’s stand-in for the series in the absence of the injured all-rounder Shadab Khan, the opening batter failed to earn a spot in the starting XI for back-to-back games.
Pakistan lost the match by 79 runs, but Raja stood by the under-fire Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. Pakistan was dismissed at 182 runs while chasing for 262 runs. Ramiz Raja said in a video posted to his YouTube channel:
Ramiz stated, “When the vice-captain is sitting on the bench, especially when he is the opener, the openers are put under pressure. Rizwan has experienced pressure in a similar way. Each time, he must demonstrate his worth. Because of that pressure, he missed a catch.”
Ramiz Raja continued with, “Similar pressure is placed on Babar Azam to score runs at every opportunity. So, take a break for this group. The white-ball cricket they have played has been terrific.”
Imam-ul-Haq, the series opener, scored 11 and six runs in the first and second one-day matches, respectively, therefore Masood is expected to be selected ahead of him in the playing XI on Friday, January 13, when the series will be decided.
According to Ramiz Raja, Babar Azam and company “struggled against spin”
In the second ODI, when the hosts lost five wickets to spinners, Ramiz Raja again brought attention to Pakistan’s hitters’ difficulties against them. Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, and Glenn Phillips were content with one wicket each, while Ish Sodhi claimed two wickets.
Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman each scored fifty-plus runs to help Pakistan win the first ODI by six wickets.
The two teams will square off in the series finale on Friday, January 13, at Karachi’s National Stadium with the series tied at one each. It’s important to note that Pakistan has never lost a home bilateral ODI series against New Zealand.
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