Lahore, 9 December 2021: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Mr Ramiz Raja has congratulated the national men’s team on a successful two-month tour of the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh on which they won eight of the nine T20Is and two Tests, adding empowering Babar Azam has yielded the desired results and has brought in consistency.
Pakistan, for the first time in history, won all group matches in an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to secure a semi-final berth, where they lost to eventual winners Australia following a thrilling contest. They then outclassed Bangladesh on their home in both the shortest and longest formats of the game, which also saw them gain 24 crucial ICC World Test Championship points.
“The Pakistan team has displayed wonderful cricket in Bangladesh, and I want to congratulate them for that,” Mr Ramiz Raja told PCB digital. “In terms of cricket, Bangladesh is a tough destination, because they curate pitches on which they nullify and neutralise big sides. They have firm grip on the spin department and they also play it very well.
“We must appreciate Pakistan for not losing the focus after the T20 World Cup and for their swift shift from the T20 to Test format. In the end, the results were outstanding. The dressing room atmosphere is good and everyone is playing for Pakistan in this side.
“People say that I am catalyst for this positive change in the team, but I want to emphasis on the fact that leadership matters. When you empower a leader and give him confidence then he starts to own everything; from decisions, team, performances to disasters. He becomes brave! Because there is nobody challenging him. His position is stable and he gets clarity.
“I told Babar Azam and the team that not to worry about results, especially before the India match. As I had said ‘I want to fix Pakistan cricket’s GPS’, it meant empowering the captain and instilling fearless cricket, which is why you are seeing a positive change in the team’s outlook.
“All the credit goes to this bunch as these people have to execute meticulously decision-making. Defeating Bangladesh was no mean task as they had defeated Australia and New Zealand. We won the crucial Test championship points with a dramatic win in the last Test.
This is what Pakistan’s cricket is; they create drama, they have unlimited potential, but they only lack consistency. But, now, we are seeing them becoming consistent … We have strong and challenging series coming up. I welcome West Indies to Pakistan, we have great form in T20Is, and are a mid-tier team in the ODIs as we are ranked fifth. As a mid-tier team, you can do a lot of experimentation. And after the HBL PSL, we have Australia coming.”
Mr Ramiz Raja also stated his desire to improve the quality of pitches at the grassroots, saying that the school and club cricket are the most important elements in Pakistan cricket. He said: “We have dearth of infrastructure and we need good pitches, because unless you have good quality pitches in domestic cricket you will not see strong performances.
“My mission statement is to make Pakistan beat Australia in Australia, South Africa in South Africa and New Zealand in New Zealand, and replicate those conditions where batting and even bowling gets difficult. Bowling on a bouncy track is not an easy task, as you have to adjust your lengths accordingly.
“We want to make school and club cricket competitive as they are artery of cricket in the country. Our bowlers cannot bowl with spikes in these two formats, so I have spoken with the manufactures in the UK for hybrid pitches and we will lay a web of such wickets in the country.”
With the Covid-19 situation improving in the country, the National Command and Operations Centre has allowed 100 per cent seating capacity at the National Stadium for the upcoming three-T20I and three-ODI series between Pakistan and West Indies. To ensure that the fans have extraordinary experiences at stadia around Pakistan, Mr Ramiz Raja announced that the PCB will soon have a fan engagement department to look after the spectators.
“The fans are very respectable to us and that’s why we are opening up a department to cater them. We will better their viewing experience. We will provide the fans with better facilities at the stadium, including Wi-Fi during matches.
“We will have stalls to cater to fans during the HBL PSL 7, which will keep them engaged. We will also try to find commentary talent with the top commentators during the PSL. I will also join in to gauge talent. We will watch a video together and then I will ask you to commentate.”
The PCB Chairman also unveiled his corporate vision to further strengthen Pakistan’s cricket product.
“My chairmanship will based on three pillars – organisational excellence, commercial excellence and cricketing excellence. Unless these three pillars come together, you will not see product. We want to build strong product, backed by sponsors and we will try our best to get the backing of the government as well.”
