ENG vs PAK: Shahid Afridi slams Ramiz Raja’s ‘we live in the dark ages of pitches’ remark
Former Pakistan cricketer, Shahid Afridi wasn’t impressed with Ramiz Raja’s remark on Rawalpindi’s pitch for the ongoing first Test match between Pakistan and England. Afridi was ‘shocked’ to hear the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman saying that ‘they haven’t cracked the code’ to make a Test match pitch.
“The way Ramiz was speaking…I mean I was shocked to listen him saying that we cannot make tracks like these. International matches have been going on in Pakistan for such a long time but then we say stuff like these. Ramiz said that he wanted a turning track I feel in this weather it would have been something big. Rawalpindi track has always been for the fast bowlers with seam and bounce. Why did they even change it? We now fear losing this Test and we want to win but don’t know the technique,” he told Samaa TV.
Afridi also expressed his disappointment over the pitch that was on offer for the ongoing first Test. He reckons that the Rawalpindi track always has assistance for fast bowlers but it hasn’t been the case this time.
“If we are talking about the Rawalpindi pitch, I have never seen a track like this. I have seen a lot of domestic games as well there, but I have never seen a pitch like this which is so flat. It reminded me of Faisalbad or Sialkot track. The four big venues – Multan, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi – I have seen fast bowlers enjoy those tracks because of the bounce. In fact, there was a time when we used to see a lot many fast bowlers coming from Rawalpindi.”
England captain, Ben Stokes, earlier, opted to bat first after winning the toss on day 1 of the first Test match. They managed to pile up a mammoth score of 657 runs in the first innings. In reply, Pakistan have scored 367 runs for the loss of 3 wickets.
Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel are currently unbeaten on 84 and 17 respectively.
