Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja has slammed the returning Najam Sethi and said that he was not the messiah as claims to be for Pakistan cricket and only wants power and nothing else.
Najam Sethi was reinstated for his fourth term as PCB chairman by Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, who is also the patron of the board. This ended Ramiz Raja’s 15-month-long tenure which had started in 2021 when then PM Imran Khan appointed him to replace Ehsan Mani.
A management committee was appointed to bring back the 2014 constitution after approval from PM Shehbaz Sharif.
While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Raja stated that political interference in cricket is not justified.
"There should be no political interference in cricket. This is a highly disrespectful way of treating your cricketers. The government of Pakistan changed the whole constitution of PCB just to accommodate Najam Sethi. I have never seen this ever in my life,” Raja said.
Ramiz Raja said Najam Sethi has no interest in Pakistan and only wants authority.
“Najam Sethi doesn't know how many months he has to stay in PCB. He has no interest in Pakistan Cricket. He only wants authority in PCB. Najam Sethi attacked PCB headquarter in such a manner that I was unable to take my baggage from my office. They attacked PCB like an FIA raid,” the former opener further added.
He also slammed Najam Sethi and co for removing Mohammad Wasim as the chief selector and appointing an interim committee headed by Shahid Afridi.
"In the middle of the season, when teams are coming to play in Pakistan, you have done this, and then you changed the chief selector. The point is that Mohammad Wasim whether he was doing a good job or not, is a former Test cricketer, and you should have made him leave with respect.
This Najam Sethi is tweeting 2:15 am at night that Ramiz Raja has been sacked, start congratulating me. I have played Test cricket, this is my field, and it hurts to see these people from outside cricket trying to act like a Messiah. I know that their motives are non-cricketing. These people are here for the limelight," the former player further added.
Raja also opened up about the captaincy of Babar Azam and the impact of the new PCB setup on the batter’s leadership.
"I believe in an authoritative captain but Babar Azam has to bring improvement in his captaincy. The new hierarchy in PCB will put pressure on Babar Azam because the captain now has to work with the new management of PCB during the ongoing season,” he added.
(cricketpakistan.com inputs)
