Karachi, 20 January 2023: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi criticized former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja for trolling the pitches in Pakistan during a recent Test series against England.
Ramiz Raja said he was disappointed with the pitch in Rawalpindi and that Pakistan was years away from preparing a tremendous five-day pitch.
“I have really not cracked the code regarding a Test match pitch, unfortunately. Absolutely disappointed with this pitch. I’m stressing on drop-in pitches in Pakistan because you’ll go to Multan and Karachi, and you’ll get a similar flavour. We don’t get bounced. It’s to do with clay, how we prepare a pitch – I don’t know what’s happening,” Ramiz told BBC.
Shahid Afridi, who recently served as Pakistan’s interim chief selector, felt these remarks made the country look bad and that the pitch in Rawalpindi had always been good for fast bowlers with seam and bounce.
“The way Ramiz was speaking, I mean, I was shocked to listen to him saying that we cannot make tracks like these. International matches have been going on in Pakistan for such a long time, but then we say stuff like [this]. Ramiz said that he wanted a turning track. I feel in this weather; it would have been something big,” Afridi said.
“T20s and ODIs, we’re fine, and pitches don’t come under that kind of scrutiny. But we’re still years away from preparing a great five-day pitch,” he maintained.
He also pointed out that international matches have been held in Pakistan for a long time and questioned why the pitch was changed.
“Rawalpindi’s track has always been for the fast bowlers with seam and bounce. Why did they even change it? If we are talking about the Rawalpindi pitch, I have never seen a track like this. I have seen a lot of domestic games as well there, but I have never seen a pitch like this which is so flat. It reminded me of Faisalabad or Sialkot track.
“The four big venues – Multan, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – I have seen fast bowlers enjoy those tracks because of the bounce. In fact, there was a time when we used to see a lot many fast bowlers coming from Rawalpindi.”
Reference link: https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/news/detail/shahid-afridi-takes-a-dig-at-former-pcb-chairman-ramiz-raja
