Former Pakistan opener stated that such one-sided matches are a joke
10 May, 2021
PHOTO COURTESY: PCB
Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja believes that the two-match Test series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was a poor advertisement for the longest format of the game.
Raja stated that such one-sided matches are a joke and it will force fans to watch other sports, instead.
“Some people are of the opinion that when a weak team plays a strong one, you need to focus on what you learn from it rather than the outcome of the match. You learn from the stronger team’s process and the way it adapts to the changing situation of a game. But I don’t think Zimbabwe learned anything from this series because they were continuously dominated by Pakistan. Also, there was no difference in their performance in the second Test as compared to the first one,” said Raja on his official YouTube channel.
“Such mismatch series should not take place. Test cricket is already under pressure and very few people watch it. If you show them such one-sided matches, then they will switch to watching football or other sports. Three-day Test match is a joke,” he added.
ALSO READ: Latif unimpressed with Pakistan playing two-Test series against lowly Zimbabwe
The 1992-World Cup winning player also stated that Zimbabwe should stop playing Tests for the time being and focus solely on white-ball cricket.
“It’s sad to see Zimbabwe’s current state because they were a very competitive team back in the day. Their team in the 1992 World Cup had three or four world class players who could take the game away from you if proper planning was not done,” he said.
“There has been a gradual deterioration in their system and structure along with corruption in cricket board. There was also tussle between black and white people. This performance is a reflection of this deterioration over the past 15-20 years. I hope they do well in the future but for now they should not play Test cricket and concentrate only on white-ball cricket,” he concluded.
Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja believes that the two-match Test series between Pakistan and Zimbabwe was a poor advertisement for the longest format of the game.
Raja stated that such one-sided matches are a joke and it will force fans to watch other sports, instead.
“Some people are of the opinion that when a weak team plays a strong one, you need to focus on what you learn from it rather than the outcome of the match. You learn from the stronger team’s process and the way it adapts to the changing situation of a game. But I don’t think Zimbabwe learned anything from this series because they were continuously dominated by Pakistan. Also, there was no difference in their performance in the second Test as compared to the first one,” said Raja on his official YouTube channel.
“Such mismatch series should not take place. Test cricket is already under pressure and very few people watch it. If you show them such one-sided matches, then they will switch to watching football or other sports. Three-day Test match is a joke,” he added.
ALSO READ: Latif unimpressed with Pakistan playing two-Test series against lowly Zimbabwe
The 1992-World Cup winning player also stated that Zimbabwe should stop playing Tests for the time being and focus solely on white-ball cricket.
“It’s sad to see Zimbabwe’s current state because they were a very competitive team back in the day. Their team in the 1992 World Cup had three or four world class players who could take the game away from you if proper planning was not done,” he said.
“There has been a gradual deterioration in their system and structure along with corruption in cricket board. There was also tussle between black and white people. This performance is a reflection of this deterioration over the past 15-20 years. I hope they do well in the future but for now they should not play Test cricket and concentrate only on white-ball cricket,” he concluded.
