Ramiz Raja castigates Babar and Co. after Pakistan's embarrassing WC defeat to India: 'If you can't win, then…'
Ramiz Raja has hit out at Babar Azam after India hammered Pakistan to record its eighth consecutive win over the Green Army in World Cup cricket.
Scarring, pasting and battering - Former Pakistani cricketer Ramiz Raja was extremely critical of how Pakistan competed against India at the grandest stages of them all - the ICC World Cup. Bemoaning Pakistan's embarrassing performance against arch-rivals India in the ongoing edition of the ICC World Cup 2023, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief has targetted Babar Azam for not living up to expectations in the high-profile fixture. Though Babar slammed his first One Day International (ODI) against India, his gritty knock wasn't enough to help Pakistan register a respectable total at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
Playing against India after their below-par show at the Asia Cup 2023, Babar's Pakistan side suffered a shocking batting collapse as the 1992 world champions were bowled out for 191 in the 50-over contest. Riding on Rohit Sharma's blistering knock in one of the most one-sided encounters between the two nations at the World Cup, India cruised to a comfortable seven-wicket in just 30.3 overs on matchday 12 of the showpiece event.
'If you can't win, then at least compete'
Ramiz, who was miffed at Pakistan's no-show against Pakistan in Ahmedabad, explained how the heavy defeat would impact the World Cup campaign of the Green Army in India. "This should hurt Pakistan because they weren't able to compete. When you're playing against India obviously it's such an environment where it's 99 per cent India fans and crowds, you're obviously overwhelmed. I understand all of that. But Babar Azam has led this side for a good four or five years, so you've got to rise to the occasion. If you can't win, then at least compete. Pakistan weren't able to do that,” Ramiz said on The ICC Review podcast.
Hammering Pakistan in front of 100,000 plus fans at a packed Narendra Modi Stadium, Rohit and Co. have extended India's winning run to 8 games at the ODI World Cup. India have registered wins over its bitter rivals in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023 edition of the 50-over World Cup. Pakistan were also unbeaten in the 2023 World Cup before Team India thrashed Babar's men to record their third straight win in the ICC event.
'Pakistan can't be termed as chokers against India'
"It's a reality and Pakistan have got to do something about it. They can't be termed as 'chokers' against India because that's not a great tag to have. Somehow it's a mental block, it's a skill block as well. Credit to India for maintaining their presence in World Cup competitions against Pakistan, it's not an easy match for India also because there are emotions involved, there are expectations involved. Then you're supposed to win because it has been happening for so many years that this can get you under a little bit of extra pressure. But they've handled it so well," Ramiz added.
How India thrashed Pakistan in World Cup
A 50-run knock of skipper Babar and Mohammad Rizwan's 49 off 69 lifted Pakistan to a scanty total of 191. Pace ace Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya, spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav all chipped in with 2 wickets each to put India on top. In the end, a captain's knock from Rohit (86 off 63 balls) followed by an unbeaten half-century from Shreyas Iyer powered India to seven-wicket at the world's largest cricket stadium.
'It's a scarring, it's a pasting!'
"It's going to hurt them. It's a scarring, it's a pasting, it's a battering and they've been outpaced and outplayed in all the three departments. Babar Azam and the senior players will have to rally around some of the young kids and have got to find an answer. They've got to be brutally honest in those team meetings. I think that is where Pakistan need to start. On the drawing board saying that our spin has been struggling, we shouldn't get out after scoring 50 or a 49, and what were the tailenders doing?,” Ramiz questioned.
