Paul Martin
The future of Pakistan cricket will come from thinking outside the box and making every effort to revive the bilateral series with India.
This is the view of former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, who also served as the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board from 2021-2022.
Raja was speaking at World Cricket Connect, an event organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) at Lord’s, designed to bring together leading figures from the world of cricket to discuss the health of the game and consider the path to future success.
The event brought together some of cricket’s leading thinkers at Lord’s, with players, coaches, announcers, franchise owners and administrators all in attendance.
And for Raja, one of the keys to Pakistan’s future will be ensuring that the on-field rivalry with India extends beyond the World Cup encounter – the two teams last met in a bilateral series in white-ball cricket in 2012/13 and in Test cricket five years prior to that.
He said, “We had some interesting conversations. The best part was being able to vent and not be on guard. There was nothing political about it, it was just heartfelt. It was a really good discussion. I got to see the perspectives of all the stakeholders: behind the camera, in front of the camera, the league owners. It was great.”
“When I was chairman, I always told the team that the world will not recognise you until or unless you beat India or can play on equal terms with India. That is the milestone.”
“They did reasonably well for about a year to a year and a half. Then the turmoil the whole country was experiencing reflected in the team’s performance. You want to be in a bubble, but sometimes players can’t create that bubble.”
“We have to start from scratch and do it all again.
“Former cricketers need to understand the value of the India vs Pakistan match. Fans should not miss out on this highlight.”
“It’s our job to say, let’s put politics aside and play cricket because that’s what’s good for the world. We need a stronger, more positive atmosphere around this issue. The responsibility lies with former Indian cricketers and former Pakistan cricketers to make that happen.”
A range of topics were on the agenda at World Cricket Connects, including schedules, growth and the future of Test cricket.
On the latter point, Raja believes ensuring the red-ball format remains the sport’s premier format should be the top priority in any scheduling decision.
He added: “You have to think outside the box. If I were the administrator of Pakistan, I would look at triangulation and regular scheduling of Test cricket because Test cricket in Pakistan right now is at best a stopgap measure.”
“They should make up for this by having a Test series and playing three 50-over matches or three T20s. Currently, most Asian countries have five T20s and one Test or five ODIs and no Tests.
“Schedules have a lot to do with why Test cricket has been hit so hard here. We will look at a proper Test schedule. We may play fewer matches but we will play a proper Test series to give it meaning.”
“There have been no bilateral series with India in the last 15-20 years but we have survived. We earn a good amount of revenue from the PSL (Pakistan Super League).”
“In fact, it made us stronger because we had to turn inward and get local sponsors and local stakeholders interested in our model. I told the team that we don’t have a lot of resources, so the only way to get a hit is to win.”
