Pakistan has been embroiled in controversies of late and has had an indifferent year so far, starting from the tour of Australia at the start of the year.
“The squad is not going to change much from now to the World Cup,” Raja told Gulf News. “They have the nucleus for the World Cup squad but they need to improve their fitness a little. I think they need to win a few matches to get their confidence going. It will take some time.”
Commenting on the fact that Pakistan are missing four key players including Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir and Salman Butt, Raja said, “What you don’t have you shouldn’t be missing. The resources may be depleted, but this is one-day cricket. You get lot of scope from the bench strength and there is strong bench strength in Pakistan. They just need to get their act together.”
He also ruled out a change in captaincy and urged the management and the board to stick with consistency.
“There should be no change of captain before the World Cup. I think we have experimented a great deal with this role and I don’t think it can ever work like that. Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq are key in one-day cricket so they need to be in good form. Umar Akmal must be reconsidered because he has got tremendous talent and needs to be guided.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2010.
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