"We Had A Lot Of Difficulties With The Previous Board": Pakistan Pacer On Ramiz Raja-Led Ex PCB Management
Ever since Ramiz Raja was removed from the post of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, several stakeholders of the game in the country have spoken out against him.
Ever since Ramiz Raja was removed from the post of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, several stakeholders of the game in the country have spoken out against him. Now, veteran Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz has also criticised the former PCB management led by Ramiz, who is also an ex-Pakistan cricket team skipper. Riaz, who has played 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is for Pakistan, said the former management never paid heed to players' demands.
"We had a lot of difficulties with the previous board," Wahab Riaz was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan in an interview to Samaa News.
The veteran pacer said that he was made to feel unwanted. "We were told things 'You have no idea how difficult it is to adjust you, nobody would keep you in a team,'" Wahab said. "That made us feel as if we've some loolhay langhray players who have never achieved anything in the game."
Wahab added that former PCB chairman Ramiz Raja never responded to his messages or calls. "I'm a present cricketer, I have not retired. Why did he never answer me?" he asked. "If people working under you aren't happy, then that says a lot."
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday threatened to take legal action against Ramiz Raja after a war of words broke out between the Board's new management committee and the former chairman following his unceremonious exit.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board has expressed its disappointment over the comments made and language used by former Chairman Mr Ramiz Raja against Chairman of the PCB Management Committee Mr Najam Sethi on a social media platform and in a TV interview," the PCB said in a statement.
"The PCB believes former Chairman Mr Raja's comments are aimed at tarnishing and damaging the impeccable reputation of present Chairman Mr Sethi, adding it reserves it's rights to pursue legal proceedings to protect and defend the image and credibility of its Chairman and the institution."
Last Thursday, Raja was removed as PCB chairman by the country's government, which appointed a 14-member committee, headed by Najam Sethi, to run the affairs of the game for the next four months. Following his sacking, Raja alleged that he was not allowed to even take his belongings from the board office after the government suspended the constitution.
Pakistan Cricket Team
Wahab Riaz