Two of Pakistan’s greatest fast bowlers ever are former pacers, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. The pair won several games for the Men in Green throughout their playing days and competed at the highest level for more than ten years. They also served in a variety of coaching capacities after their playing careers were over to aid the team’s advancement and success in the world arena. Ramiz Raja, a former cricketer for Pakistan who was recently relieved of his leadership role at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), asserts that if he had the power, he would have permanently banned the pair.
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During a recent Pakistani TV show, the 60-year-old former cricketer-turned-administrator made a shocking statement about the renowned team. Raja cited by Justice Qayyum on match-fixing when he argued that the contaminated cricketers shouldn’t be permitted to rejoin the system.
Speaking to Samaa TV, Ramiz claimed that when Akram and Younis were reintroduced into the system, he had no choice but to cooperate with them because he had no other options. After the report was made public, Akram, who had a key role in it, was fined and demoted from captaincy. Waqar also received a fine for his participation. Both came back to Pakistan cricket in coaching capacities, with Waqar serving the team twice as head coach.
“I think no one should have had the chance (of coming back to Pakistan cricket). If Wasim Akram’s name is in there, and he was censured for not cooperating, right? It was a borderline case. If I was the decision maker at the time, I would’ve banned them forever. You brought them back to system. I wasn’t in power at the time. We were told to play with them and work with them, and that was it. No one knew how to tackle that. So many people were involved in that. I don’t know what the compulsion was, ” Raja said.
