Ramiz Raja slams PCB for sacking Shan Masood: ‘When he keeps giving the captain a group of ordinary players…’ | Cricket news

Ramiz Raja and Shan Masood

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision to sack Shan Masood as Test captain ahead of the upcoming West Indies and England tours. The PCB brought back Babar Azam to lead the Test side, but Raja believes Shan has been unfairly blamed for the team’s poor performances.Speaking on his YouTube channel, Raja said that despite not having a strong enough team, results are expected from Shan. “You give him an ordinary test team and then you expect him to give good results,” commented Ramiz.He added that if he were in Shan’s shoes, he would challenge the board’s decision. “If I were Shan, I would have lodged a written protest with the board that when you consistently give the captain a group of ordinary players, then how can you expect positive results?” Raja said.He also defended Shan by asking why only the captain should be held responsible. “If the standard of the Test team is not good, then only the captain is responsible for it,” he added.Shan Masood has led Pakistan in 16 Tests since December 2023, but the team has lost 12 of those matches. Senior selector Aqib Javed recently blamed Shan’s leadership for the poor results, which Raja disagreed with, saying that the captain can play as well as the players available to him.Pakistan have now reinstated Babar Azam as Test captain. The team will travel to the West Indies for a two-Test series on July 13 before traveling to England for three more Test matches in August and September.