'Even Ramiz Raja would have scored runs on it' - Danish Kaneria slams PCB chief over defending Rawalpindi pitch

Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja’s ‘lame’ excuse on the pitch used for the first Test played between Pakistan and Australia. Being played at the Pindi stadium, the match ended in a dull draw as a total of 1187 runs were scored while only 14 wickets fell over the course of five days. The strip used for the game attracted a lot of criticism from the cricket experts as it had nothing for the bowlers.

With the Rawalpindi pitch becoming a center of criticism, PCB chief issued a statement saying although the pitch was not a good advertisement for Test cricket, the home side didn’t want to create a strip that put the contest in visitors’ lap. However, the statement did not went well for Kaneria as he lashed out on the PCB chief.

Kaneria minced no words as he said that even the PCB chief would’ve scored runs on that surface. The former spinner didn’t even spare Pakistani captain Babar Azam terming him ‘weak’.

Ramiz Raja has lied and has betrayed the fans: Danish Kaneria

Speaking on his Youtube channel, the former spinner has termed Ramiz statement as lame excuse. “What Ramiz Raja said today was nothing but a lame excuse and has misled Pakistani fans with the same. He has lied and has betrayed the fans. It’s okay, he was busy with his son’s wedding. He attended the wedding and then saw there was a lot of noise surrounding the dead wicket. The Test grew a lot of eyeballs as Australia was touring Pakistan after these many years, but what wicket did they produce for that?” Kaneria said.

“What were you afraid of? You had bowlers, but you didn’t play them. You have a weak captain who cannot be aggressive while leading the side. It was such a wicket that even Ramiz Raja would have scored runs on it even at this age,” he added.

As per reports, ICC match referee for the game Ranjan Madugalle could report the Rawalpindi wicket to the top body for not being up to Test cricket standards. Meanwhile, the hosts will now taken on Australia in the second match of the series to start from March 12 at National Stadium, Karachi.