‘The way Ramiz was speaking, I was shocked’ - Shahid Afridi lambasts PCB chief’s comments on Rawalpindi pitch

Former Pakistan skipper and 2009 T20 World Cup winner Shahid Afridi expressed his displeasure over Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja’s statement on the Rawalpindi pitch. The wicket that is being used for the ongoing Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and England has garnered a lot of attention because it has shown no signs of assistance for the bowlers.

Afridi was left unimpressed with the recent statements made by the PCB chief on the same, who had earlier suggested to have drop-in pitches and further added that Pakistan is 'many years away from having a great five-day pitch.' The former star all-rounder claimed that he was ‘shocked’ over the comments by the chief.

“The way Ramiz was speaking, I mean I was shocked to listen to him saying that we cannot make tracks like these. International matches have been going on in Pakistan for such a long time but then we say stuff like these. Ramiz said that he wanted a turning track I feel in this weather it would have been something big," Afridi told Samaa TV.

Rawalpindi’s track has always been for the fast bowlers: Shahid Afridi

Afridi further added that the Rawalpindi pitch has always remained suitable for fast bowlers and felt that there was no need to alter the wicket for the first Test.

“Rawalpindi’s track has always been for the fast bowlers with seam and bounce. Why did they even change it? We now fear losing this Test and we want to win but don’t know the technique. If we are talking about the Rawalpindi pitch, I have never seen a track like this. I have seen a lot of domestic games as well there, but I have never seen a pitch like this which is so flat,” told Afridi.

“It reminded me of Faisalabad or Sialkot track. The four big venues - Multan, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi - I have seen fast bowlers enjoy those tracks because of the bounce. In fact, there was a time when we used to see a lot many fast bowlers coming from Rawalpindi,” concluded the former cricketer.