Incident Summary
Criticism against teammates by senior players is inevitable when there is shortcoming in performance. Yet, in the Pakistan cricket team, the criticism tends to stem from personal bias at times rather than performance. The recent instance involves Babar Azam and ex-cricketer Ramiz Raja.
While Babar Azam was Pakistan's captain during Ramiz Raja's stint as chairman of PCB, their professional relationship then appeared solid. Ramiz's recent comments, however, indicate that there is tension between them.
Match Details
The opening Test of the series between Pakistan and South Africa was held at Lahore. Pakistan batted first after winning the toss and accumulated 313 runs for the loss of five wickets at stumps on day one.
- Imam-ul-Haq made 93 runs.
- Skipper Shan Masood scored 76 runs.
- Mohammad Rizwan (62)* and Salman Agha (52)* put on a century stand.
- Babar Azam scored 23 runs, wasting a chance to convert his start into a big one.
In spite of this, Babar achieved a feat of becoming the first cricketer to have more than 3,000 runs for an Asian nation in the World Test Championship.
The DRS Controversy
When on 1 run, Babar was given out caught behind by umpire against South African bowler Muthusamy, Babar decided to review the decision. The DRS proved that he didn't edge the ball and the on-field decision was reversed.
But Ramiz Raja, who was commentating then, made a comment assuming his microphone was turned off. He added, "It is definitely out. But now he will begin the drama. DRS is useless."
Public Reaction
The remark was caught on tape and soon went viral throughout social media. Fans and analysts widely condemned Ramiz for disrespecting a current national player. They said that such comments hurt team morale and professionalism, particularly from someone who used to be the chairman of PCB.
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