Ramiz Raja champions Men in Green after losing to England
Pak vs Eng: No button for making Pakistan play like Australia, says Ramiz Raja. Defending the Green Shirts after a 4-3 T20I series loss to England, Ramiz Raja, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has said there exists no button for making Pakistan play like Australia as and when required.
“Our team have its own playing style and there’s nothing wrong in it in my view,” the PCB chairman said in a video post.
England defeated Pakistan in the decider of home series at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
“If this style had any flaws, then our team’s success rate in the last 12 months would not have been 80%.”
Highlighting the bright side, Raja said the players’ temperament was improving and they were fighting back.
“It is said that push the button and start playing aggressively like Australia. They also say that we play old-fashioned cricket. It is not modern cricket,” Raja added.
‘Pakistan team fought till last ball’
The PCB chairman seconded the analysis that Pakistan play old school cricket; however, they did seal so many notable victories playing that way.
“The PCB has started a programme for modern day cricket and it will prepare cricketers in the next four years,” he however and added that in that time they would be fully prepped to play modern cricket.
Raja said they would put as much pressure on the team as possible but not more than that.
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Raja hailed the Green Shirts, saying the team fought till the last ball.
“The team have won some thrilling matches and reached the knock-out stage in different events. National cricketers were selected in the ICC players of the year list. Where does it happen in such a big number,” he said.
Moreover, the PCB chief said the fans had taken ownership of this team and filled up the stadiums during the clashes against England even on working days.
England seal series
A day earlier, a sublime fifty from Dawid Malan and three wickets for Chris Woakes guided England to a thumping 67-run win over Pakistan in the seventh Twenty20 in Lahore as they clinched the series 4-3 in a major boost ahead of the World Cup.
Chasing 210, Pakistan suffered a double blow when captain Babar Azam (4) and Mohammad Rizwan (1) departed in quick succession as England’s pace attack made early inroads and reduced the hosts to 33-3 under the lights at Gaddafi Stadium.
Shan Masood put up some resistance with a fighting 56 but England, led by Woakes (3-26), kept chipping away with regular wickets. David Willey returned figures of 2-22 while Reece Topley, Adil Rashid and Sam Curran picked up a wicket each.
Mohammad Wasim (0-61) and Shadab Khan (0-39) bore the brunt of their assault as Malan and Brook made the most of Pakistan’s sloppiness in the field, with Babar guilty of offering reprieves to both batsmen.
England continue their preparations for the World Cup with a three-match series against Australia starting next Sunday, while Pakistan face Bangladesh and New Zealand in a tri-series from Friday. The World Cup in Australia gets underway on October 16.
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