“Would've banned them forever,” Ramiz Raja on Wasim & Waqar while referring to Justice Qayyum's report on match-fixing

Ramiz believes tainted cricketers should not be allowed to return to the system.

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis | GettyAfter being sacked as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Ramiz Raja has been in the news with his explosive remarks.

While Raja recently grabbed the headlines with his comments on the BCCI, Indian cricket team and current PCB chief Najam Sethi, his recent target is none other than the legendary Pakistani pacers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

In an interview with Samaa TV, Ramiz said if he was the decision-maker, he would have banned Wasim and Waqar forever for their involvement in match-fixing.

Ramiz further claimed that when Wasim and Waqar were reintroduced into the system, he had no option but to cooperate with them.

The former PCB chairman made the comments referring to Justice Qayyum's report on match-fixing, which included the names of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

"I think no one should have had the chance of coming back to Pakistan cricket. If Wasim Akram's name is in there, and he was censored for not cooperating, right? It was a borderline case. If I was the decision maker at the time, I would've banned them forever," Ramiz said.

"You brought them back to system. I wasn't in power at the time. We were told to play with them and work with them, and that was it. No one knew how to tackle that. So many people were involved in that. I don't know what the compulsion was."

"Whoever is tainted, I've zero tolerance on it," he further stated when asked about the banned trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif.

After serving his sentence, Amir made his Pakistan comeback in 2016 but was not considered for selection during Ramiz Raja’s stint as PCB chief.

"I'm absolutely clear. People say they've had their punishment; move on. But I've experienced such situations," Ramiz remarked.

 
 

By Salman Anjum - 31 Dec, 2022

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