ISLAMABAD: Former captain Ramiz Raja continues to bat for young guns, insisting that Pakistan will have to give them chance in limited-overs game to prepare a strong future outfit.
The 57-year-old Ramiz has recently been involved in a public spat with the veteran duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik when he urged them to retire gracefully. In a recent interview, he had also asked the Pakistan Cricket Board and head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq to focus on future by giving chances to youngsters.
Ex-Test opener Ramiz once again reiterated his stance on Thursday while talking to former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on an ESPNcricinfo podcast.
“Pakistan need to introduce young blood in white-ball cricket. It’s as simple as that. There’s no point in going back to the have-beens,” Ramiz said.
“It’s a format where you introduce young talent. That’ll increase you cricketing canvass as they may go on to play Test cricket for you as well. I think it’s a mindset that has to change,” he insisted.
According to Ramiz, unless the young players get a place in the team it would not be possible to know the real talent they possessed. “If the young guns are not given a space in white-ball cricket, [then] how would we know they are not the ones for the future?” he asked.
“I think this is the typical Pakistani mindset that come the World Cup you must have a lot of experience to win the games,” he reckoned.
Underling the need for a balanced outfit, Ramiz was of the view that relying totally on experienced players would not be a prudent choice. He said he understood the value of experience but there was still a lot of space for young kids as well to come and do well.
“It has got to be a win-win situation where you don’t oversee the importance of experience. You can’t bank yourself completely on the back of a 37-year or 38-year-old, and not one but three or four [such players],” added Ramiz, who retired from Test and ODIs in 1997 when he was 35.
