“People Get Frustrated”: PCB Chief Ramiz Raja On Pakistan Opening Batter

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja has given a strong reaction to a recent statement made by opening batter Ahmed Shehzad. The player has been out of favour for a long period now, and way back in 2016, then coach Waqar Younis had advised him to return to domestic cricket. The 30-year-old Shehzad reacted to the report saying it dented his career. Shehzad has played 13 Tests, 81 ODIs and 59 T20Is. He last played for the national team in October, 2019 in a T20I against Sri Lanka in Lahore.

Now, Raja has strongly reacted to the statement.

“See, I too have made comebacks. People get frustrated. They start blaming everyone. I think introspection is needed. When you are out of the team, your patience gets tested, your temperament gets tested, your hard work gets tested. So, my message to him is, ‘let the bat do the talking’. Keep scoring, there is no way you will be dropped from the team,” Raja said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“Look at Shan Masood. He has forced himself back in the team through sheer number of runs,” he added.

Younis, then head coach of the national side, wrote in his 2016 report that Shehzad and Umar Akmal should play domestic cricket to get back into the national side.

Promoted

While talking to Cricket Pakistan, Shehzad said: “I have not seen the report myself but a PCB official told me that these remarks have been said regarding me. But I believe that these things should be discussed face-to-face and I am ready to take on that challenge. Then we will see who is right and who is wrong.

“Maybe I have more things to say and I might even have a bigger reach than them but I opt to stay quiet because you need to live up to your own standards. But their words hurt my career, especially since I was not allowed to present my case.”