Ramiz makes a strong beginning as PCB chief
The former Pakistan captain is equally popular in the UAE
Ramiz Raja, a former Pakistan captain and member of Imran Khan’s World Cup winning squad of 1992, had an eventful first day in office on Monday after taking over as the Pakistan Cricket Board’s 36th chairman.
If he said in his first press conference that his main agenda would be to ensure Pakistan plays the brand of fearless, aggressive cricket which made them such a dominant force in the Nineties — Raja backed it up with a major announcement.
Matthew Hayden, the Australian opener and South African speedster Vernon Philander have been added to the squad with an idea of infusing a winning mentality in the team.
“It might be beneficial to have an Australian occupying the dressing room. And Pakistan, of course, can win the World Cup, they just need to improve their performances by an extra 10 per cent. Vernon Philander I know very well and he understands bowling and has had a great record against Australia,” said Raja.
The only parallel of Raja that comes to mind in contemporary cricket is that of Sourav Ganguly, the charismatic former Indian captain. The backing of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the constitutional Patron-in-Chief of PCB, will certainly be there — but Raja has to fill into the big shoes of Ehsan Mani.
The latter, a former chairman of International Cricket Council (ICC), has left the PCB in good health with a vibrant product in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and international teams back to touring Pakistan — though the national team is on the lookout for a much-needed consistency on the field.
The T20 World Cup, which takes place in the UAE in about a month’s time, offers Pakistan an excellent opportunity to redeem themselves as it had been a home venue to them for more than a decade and will offer crowd support in equal measure like India.
Ideal example
Raja, who is only the fourth former Pakistan international cricketer to become PCB chief is an ideal example of been there and done that. Apart from carrying with him the experience of having played 57 Test matches and 198 ODIs, he had been a hugely popular TV pundit (often known as the Voice of Pakistan), media personality apart from having represented Pakistan on the ICC Chief Executives’ Committee and on the MCC World Cricket Committee.
He also enjoys a long association with UAE — which extends beyond his playing days in Sharjah as he has friends and had business interests in Dubai. Speaking about Raja’s partnership in setting up a tea lounge at the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai, Ajay Sethi, chairman of Channel 2 Group, recollected over phone: “Ramiz is one of the finest business partners I’ve worked with and it was a great experience working with him. Ramiz used to regularly tour Sri Lanka and he got connected with Dilmah tea owners and decided to set up a tea lounge here.