'You should pause a little and recognize their achievements' - Ramiz Raja opens up on his chat with Babar Azam regarding criticism

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ramiz Raja has recently opened up about a chat he had with current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Ramiz mentioned Babar as the latter talked about criticism he has faced lately. The national side of Pakistan is under scrutiny due to an average performance from the middle-order batter in the last couple of international assignments.

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The Pakistani cricket fans went on to express their angst on the management in the seventh and last of the recently-concluded seven-match T20I series. They started chanting ‘parchi’ towards Khushdil Shah in Lahore.

This is as big a product as any of our great institutions - Ramiz Raja

Later on, while talking about the criticism, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja went on to say it is all well about criticism unless and until it crosses the line from being constructive to something else.

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“The fans have ownership. This is as big a product as any of our great institutions. They unite Pakistan and bring a smile to the fans' faces. Everyone is emotionally involved in this team,” said Ramiz to Samaa TV.

Furthermore, continuing his statement, Ramiz Raja mentioned his conversations with Babar Azam and he also talked about what Babar said to him.

“Babar Azam often tells me ‘dekhiye hamaara kitna criticism Hota hai’. I say to him, ‘be happy that cricket isn’t like any other sport in Pakistan where people don't care about them. When people are engaged, they will form opinions. As long as they are constructive, no one has a problem,” he added later.

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Talking a bit more about Babar Azam’s accomplishments for the Pakistani side as the men in green won their first match against India in the 20-20 World Cup back in 2021. Other than that, Babar’s men also outplayed the men in blue during the Asia Cup 2022 last month.

“Their achievement is nothing short of a miracle. I never saw Pakistan beating India (in World Cup), but now they have done it. But then, people say, ‘ok, this has happened. Let's move on. You should pause a little and recognize their achievements. We have defeated a billion-dollar cricket industry. It isn't easy,” Ramiz further mentioned.

“This team has a wonderful temperament. There are issues in the middle order and we tend to freeze and drop catches in big games. But these aren't things that you can work on. Everything is possible,” he concluded.