Ramiz Raja backtracks on Babar Azam; puts the entire blame for Pakistan's misery

Former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja reckons that Babar Azam is responsible for the pitch issues in Pakistan in the last few years. According to Ramiz, Babar Azam played a key role in deciding the nature of the pitch Pakistan wanted to play.

The pitches in Pakistan have been under the scanner, especially during Test matches. The flat wickets in the country have often resulted in draws, which is now a rarity in Test cricket. The international community has constantly criticized the preparation of pitches.

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Ramiz Raja holds Babar Azam responsible for Pakistan's pitch issues

While speaking at a BBC Test Match Special broadcast during the second Test between Pakistan and England, Ramiz Raja revealed how Pakistan prepared the pitch at Rawalpindi in the 2022 Australia series when only 14 wickets fell over five days.

The former Pakistan batter stated that Babar Azam prepared the strategy to produce a flat batting pitch to defeat Australia. He further claimed that Babar Azam's strategy was questioned but they decided to go ahead since he was the captain.

"I wasn’t really bossing the pitch preparation. I was only listening to Babar. When he’d walk into my room, I’d ask him what plans he had to beat Australia. He came up with the strategy, and even though I sometimes questioned it, he was the captain at the end of the day," Ramiz Raja said.

The former Pakistan captain further noted that the pitches have not behaved as they would have liked, leading to the poor performance of the team in home conditions.

“You can't really plan for an assault if the pitch is not going to behave properly or to your liking and to your strength. And that's been the major reason, a major cause for Pakistan's debacle at home. The pitches have not really responded to the kind of talent that you picked to perform,” he added.

Babar Azam was recently dropped from Pakistan's second and third Tests against England. Alongside him, fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were also ruled out of the last two Tests of the series.

Ramiz Raja takes a U-turn from earlier comments

With his recent comments, Ramiz Raja has taken a U-turn from his earlier comments when he was defending the flat pitches during Pakistan's 2022 Test series against Australia. During that time, he reasoned the preparation of flat pitches to shield Pakistan's limited resources against a high-class Australian attack.

While both the bowling attacks struggled during that series, Australia clinched a historic 1-0 series win under the captaincy of Pat Cummins. Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins used reverse swing to dismantle Pakistan's batting line-up.

Pakistan level the series vs England

Pakistan finally won a Test match at home after three years recently when they defeated England in the second Test at Multan. A spin-friendly pitch was prepared for this match and it worked in Pakistan's favor as Noman Ali and Sajid Khan claimed all the 20 wickets of England.

The next Test of the series will be played at Rawalpindi which has recently produced flat batting surfaces. While Pakistan is trying hard to prepare a spin-friendly pitch, it remains to be seen how the pitch behaves in this important Test match.