Rameez Raja says whole cricket system in Pakistan needs a revamp

ISLAMABAD: Former skipper Rameez Raja wants the cricket system of the country to be revamped from the bottom in order to make a formidable national team for the future.

Rameez while referring to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq who resigned on Wednesday, said he did some things right while some ended up wrong for Pakistan cricket.

“Our first class, under-19 and club cricket have collapsed therefore a new system is required to bring the talent to fore,” he said on his YouTube channel.

He said no cricket is being played in schools because educational institutions are now being established in houses which lack grounds in their premises making it difficult to play.

“How can we get players through this system,” he said.

Rameez said we were only getting talent through Pakistan Super League (PSL) but the selectors were picking players for all formats tests, one days and twenty-20s from PSL.

Rameez, however, said Inzamam brought some young talented players in the main stream including Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq and Imad Wasim.

“However, after inclusion of his nephew Imam into the squad Inzamam had to go through controversy,” he said.

Speaking about the Pakistan squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup, he said Inzamam did not select a good team.

“The approach in selection of the squad was of the 80s and 90s which has no place in today’s modern cricket,” he said.

He added that England made a formidable team which played the World Cup fearlessly.

“We have to change the mindset of the game and should focus on bringing in new management and administrators in first-class cricket,” he said adding that fresh people are needed for the job.