Ramiz Raja slams Babar and Co after India loss
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Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja slammed Babar Azam and his troops after their humiliating seven-wicket defeat to arch-rivals India in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Ramiz slammed Pakistan for failing to live up to the occasion and compete with India in their highly-anticipated clash, while revealing concern for what the loss could mean for his former side’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign.
Pakistan looked on track to set India a challenging target as captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan carried them to 155/2 before a stunning collapse had them all out for 191.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (86) then led the way as India brushed aside the Pakistan attack to clinch an emphatic victory with almost 20 overs to spare.
"This should hurt Pakistan because they weren't able to compete,” Ramiz said on the latest episode of The ICC Review podcast.
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"When you're playing against India obviously it's such an environment where it's 99 per cent India fans and crowds, you're obviously overwhelmed. I understand all of that.
"But Babar Azam has led this side for a good four or five years, so you've got to rise to the occasion.
"If you can't win, then at least compete. Pakistan weren't able to do that.”
Ramiz believes that Pakistan are weighed down by the horrific record against India while holding out hope that they can turn it around if the teams cross paths again at the pointy end of the tournament.
"It's a reality and Pakistan have got to do something about it, Ramiz said.
"They can't be termed as 'chokers' against India because that's not a great tag to have. Somehow it's a mental block, it's a skill block as well.
"Credit to India for maintaining their presence in World Cup competitions against Pakistan, it's not an easy match for India also because there are emotions involved, there are expectations involved.
"Then you're supposed to win because it has been happening for so many years that this can get you under a little bit of extra pressure. But they've handled it so well," he added.
