‘He has never lifted a bat’ – Ramiz Raja launches scathing attack on new PCB management
Ex-Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja has lashed out at the new PCB management calling Najam Sethi’s appointment as a ‘political’ move that defies cricketing logic. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ramiz revealed that the entire PCB constitution was amended just to fit one person (Najam Sethi). Raja also criticised the process in which the changes were made, suggesting he didn’t even get to take his stuff from the office as Sethi and his men took over.
“To accommodate one person, Sethi to be precise, they had to change the entire constitution (of the PCB). I have not seen this anywhere in the world. It has been done in the middle of a season, when teams are visiting Pakistan. They have changed the chief selector, who had played Test cricket. At 2 am in the night, he (Sethi) tweets that Ramiz Raja is gone. This is my playing field. It hurts,” the former PCB chairman said during a YouTube interaction with the fans on Monday.
“It has been made out as if a messiah (Sethi) has come, who will take the game to new heights. We know what he is up to. He wants the limelight at any cost. He has nothing to do with cricket and has never lifted a bat. They have changed me midway. In the middle of the season, they are bringing Micky Arthur. Saqlain Mushtaq’s tenure was ending anyway in January. Saqlain has played over 50 (49) Tests, he is a legend. This is no way to treat the cricketers.”
It frustrates when you are told to step aside midway: Ramiz Raja
Raja had a three-year contract but was asked to leave midway through the first 12 months. He further said that Sethi’s appointment will not benefit cricket calling the move political.
“It frustrates when you are told to step aside midway through after 12 months when you were given a term of three years. This is to fill a political person. It will not help cricket. It leads to pressure on the cricket board, system, national team and captain. The constitution has to be robust. It happens only in Pakistan. I will continue to raise the subject at international platforms. It has become a joke.”
Narrating a rather shocking story, Ramiz said that as Najam Sethi and his men came into the PCB office, they didn’t allow him to even take his stuff. What happened in the PCB has been termed ‘political victimisation and vendetta’ by Ramiz.
“They did not allow me to take my stuff out of the office,” he said and added that the government has bulldozed the PCB constitution. “They don’t have any interest in cricket. The constitution has been bulldozed. It is political victimization and vendetta. There will be no place for excellence when there is no continuity.”
