Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja has issued a scathing criticism against Pakistan’s bowling performance and subpar coverage during the ongoing series against Ireland.
If they took the catches of Rizwan and Zaman, it would have been difficult for Pakistan to chase down the target,” said Raja.
Raja voiced his concerns and underlined the importance of Pakistan’s bowlers, especially the pacers, whose inconsistency has been a persistent problem since last year’s World Cup in India.
“Pakistan’s top bowlers are giving away so many runs against Ireland, then it will be difficult for the team in future. Pakistan’s strength and success is based on the bowlers, especially the pacers, which they have been struggling with since the World Cup in India last year. Two balls is good and then three deliveries they are bad, that makes the situation difficult,” he added.
Adding another layer of criticism, Raja focused on the team’s opening options. He expressed a skeptical view of Saim Ayub’s effectiveness as an opening batsman and emphasized the need for consistency and reliability at the top of the order.
“I don’t think Saim Ayub gives you confidence, he shows flashes of brilliance. If you don’t score 50 from 30 balls, then breaking the opening duo of Rizwan and Babar makes no sense,” said Raja.
Apart from the on-field performance, Raja turned his attention to lackluster coverage of the matches, describing them as similar to “club matches”. He criticized the minimal camera coverage, inadequate replays that detract from the viewing experience for fans.
One thing I want to highlight is the coverage which was pretty bad. These matches appear as some club matches. There are only a few cameras, no DRS, no replays, boundary blurring, no real enjoyment of watching a shot or a good ball. This damages our brand,” he concluded.
