The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) went through a recent transition and plenty of changes were made internally. Najam Sethi replaced former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja as the chairman, Shahid Afridi was appointed as the interim chief selector of the men’s national team, where he was also joined by his former teammate Abdul Razzaq and Rao Iftikhar Anjum.
Ever since there has been a war of words between Ramiz and the PCB, with the cricket board even threatening to file a legal lawsuit against the ex-cricketer. Despite the warning, Ramiz has been vocal about his cold relations with the current regime and in an interaction last week, he even suggested that Afridi should step down from his position.
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“In my opinion he shouldn’t work in such environment. I can only suggest this,” Ramiz told Capital TV. When asked to elaborate, Ramiz added: “If I have to join any institution, I’ll do a bit of research. Who is the boss, who are his subordinates, will I be comfortable or not, will I get any reward, why do I want to work, what is the purpose?”
Ramiz was fired as PCB chairman after Pakistan’s humiliating defeat against England in a home Test series.
Meanwhile, if we look at Afridi he has already taken some bold decisions with the latest being the promotion of wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed to playing XI from the bench. Ahmed featured in both the Tests against New Zealand, and emerged as Pakistan’s standout player on both occasions.
While both the matches ended in a draw, the former Pakistan skipper finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. He accumulated 335 runs from innings, which included a crucial fourth-inning century in the second Test in Karachi.
In addition he has recalled experienced candidates Haris Sohail and Shan Masood back in the ODI squad against New Zealand, stating “the two still have plenty to offer to Pakistan cricket.” Sohail has not featured in 50-over international since 2020, while Masood last played the format in 2019.
