PCB Controversy: After a heartbreaking 3-0 Test series to Ben Stokes' England, the Pakistan cricketing scenario is going through a series of changes. Just a day after England whitewashed Pakistan in their home series, Ramiz Raja was sacked as the chairman of the PCB. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif replaced Raja with Najam Sethi. The changes just didn't stop here as Sethi brought in former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi as the 'interim chief selector' of the Pakistan men's international team. As soon as Afridi came, he replaced Rizwan with former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.
Shahid Afridi's interim selection panel includes the likes of Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum who are his former teammates. During ongoing Pakistan vs England series, there were rumours that Raja was on his way out, but he kept denying it all along. The decision might have come as a shock to Raja who was under the impression that he transformed Pakistan cricket into a brand. To this date, the former chairman reiterates the fact that he transformed Pakistan's cricket and their exploits in white-ball cricket have been nothing short of fantastic. Raja even went to the length of saying that Pakistan forced the Indian cricketing setup to make wholesale changes.
Ramiz Raja added:
In my tenure as the PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) chief, the team gave an outstanding performance in white-ball cricket. We played in the Asia Cup final, but India didn't. We left a billion-dollar industry like India far behind. It caused loads of changes in their structure. They sacked their selection committee, they sacked their captain Virat Kohli after India lost to Pakistan by a margin of 10 wickets in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The BCCI could not accept and digest the fact that Pakistan left them behind. I empowered Babar Azam and in the process, I have no qualms in saying that in my tenure we successfully managed to transform Pakistan cricket into a brand.
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This is not the first time that Raja has baselessly hit out at the PCB. Earlier this year, he also threatened the BCCI and the ICC about Pakistan pulling out of the ODI World Cup. The former chairman has also hit out at Najam Sethi and now the PCB is planning to take legal action against him.
