Pakistan Cricket Team: Ramiz Raja Berates Babar Azam and Co. after defeat against NZ

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Former PCB chief Ramiz Raja has blasted the Pakistan Cricket team after their defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the 3rd T20I on Sunday (April 21).

Pakistan suffered a surprising loss in Rawalpindi on Sunday. After a stellar victory on Saturday in the 2nd T20I, the hosts faltered on Sunday.

Pakistan put up 178 runs after batting first. Babar Azam, Saim Ayub gave them a good start with a 55-run partnership, which was solidified by Irfan Khan and Shadab Khan. Shadab scored a quickfire 41 off just 20 balls.

But it was Mark Chapman who rose the highest and scored a scintillating 87 off just 42 balls to level the series for the Kiwis. The Kiwi star took them home with 10 balls to spare and are right back in the contest.

Ramiz Raja expressed his displeasure on his YouTube channel after the defeat. The former Pakistan captain was not happy with the bowling and raised concern on the underwhelming outing of the team in just a one-day span. Also he criticized Pakistan for losing against a Kiwi team which had almost none of their first team players.

"This was an embarrassing defeat. Losing is a part of cricket, but such a defeat shakes the foundation a bit, especially with the World Cup just around the corner. You are playing at home, on your favourite surface, against a team that isn't even a complete side, not a first-tier or even a second-tier New Zealand team makes it an embarrassing loss," Raja said.

"Let's admit that in T20, anyone's luck can change, but such a drastic turn of tables within 24 hours is a blow to Pakistan's reputation. This has been happening for a long time that you can expect anything from Pakistan on a given day. Just 24 hours ago, Pakistan defeated them by 7 wickets, and now they themselves have suffered a 7-wicket defeat. This should not happen. It can't happen because the set batters can't get out after scoring 20-30 runs. This is a pitch of scoring 250, we know the outfield is like a bullet and that makes a chase of 180 very easy," he added.

The inconsistency has been Pakistan's biggest achilles heel over the years. It was quite visible in the World Cup 2023 as well when they couldn't qualify for the semifinals. With the reinstatement of Babar Azam as captain, the hope will be to showcase a much better performance in the upcoming T20 World Cup.