Ramiz Raja was recently removed as PCB chief and replaced by Najam Sethi.
Raja was named the PCB chief by former Pakistan PM Imran Khan and under him, sweeping changes were made to Pakistan cricket with the abolishment of department cricket and the domestic scene being curtailed to six teams from six provinces.
Ramiz also started the Pakistan Junior league for U19 cricketers with much fanfare which saw six former cricketers being paid handsomely to be mentors of the six teams, but the response to the venture was lukewarm.
However, his tenure was criticized for the way the Pakistan team was run and for his involvement in running the team as well as he was seen motivating the players in the dressing room and defending their failures, and even helping in team selection.
Under his tenure, Pakistan reached the final of the Asia Cup 2022 and the T20 World Cup 2022 as well, apart from the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup. But the Babar Azam-led side couldn’t win a single trophy. The team’s performance in Test cricket was also questionable with them losing to Australia and England at home.
The 0-3 loss to England in Tests was historic as Pakistan was whitewashed in their own home for the time ever and pitches produced in these Tests came under scrutiny as well.
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However, the biggest claim to fame of Ramiz Raja was taking on the BCCI and Indian cricket as he threatened that Pakistan might boycott the ODI World Cup 2023 in India if the BCCI doesn’t send the Indian team to Pakistan for Asia Cup 2023.
This was after BCCI secretary and ACC chief Jay Shah had confirmed that India will not travel to Pakistan and hence the tournament will be moved to a neutral venue.
He also took a dig at Virat Kohli’s maiden T20I century in Asia Cup against Afghanistan, his ‘billion-dollar industry’ jibe at BCCI after defeating them in Asia Cup and his rude behavior towards an Indian journalist were some highlights of his 15-month tenure.
Now that Ramiz Raja found himself out of the PCB, he took to Twitter to announce his return to YouTube with a post announcing a fan forum on his channel ‘Ramiz Speaks.’.
This announcement led to a collective hilarious reaction from the cricket fans on Twitter who were expecting this development.
Here are some of the best reactions: