The PCB chairman made a huge remark on Team India ahead of the blockbuster T20 World Cup clash on October 23.
The Pakistan cricket team is currently taking part in a T20I tri-series involving New Zealand and Bangladesh as part of the preparations for the T20 World Cup. Last month, Pakistan reached the final of the Asia Cup and also went down fighting against England in a seven-match T20I series 3-4 before flying to New Zealand for the tri-nation series. In the Asia Cup, the Babar Azam-led side registered a brilliant win over India in the Super 4 stage, and PCB chairman Ramiz Raja stated that the win was important to “clear the mental block” among Pakistan players against their arch-rivals.
Speaking to Pakistan news channel Samaa TV, Raja admitted that Indians are “ahead” of his team when it comes to skills, but Pakistan showed great fight in beating Rohit Sharma’s men.
“Pehle toh India ke against jo jeete hain ham, bade arsey ke baad hua hai. Iss team ki tareef karni chahiye. Skill ki baat thi, Indians skill level me hamse bahut aage hain, abhi bhi batting me aage hain. Magar ek mental block tha jisko clear karna tha. Aur vo kiya iss team ne ek young captain ke under. (It’s after a long time that we won against India. We should be lauding this team. Indians are far ahead in skill level than us, especially in batting. But it was important to clear that mental block and this team did that under a young captain),” Ramiz said.
Further talking about Babar’s captaincy, Ramiz stated that he has given the full authority to the 27-year-old batter as the skipper of the side.
“Agar aap captain ko strong karte hain toh vo team ko aage leke jaata hai, uski ownership complete hoti hai. Main cricket khela hu, maine kaptaani ki hai, agar aap dressing room me aapki sultanat nahi hain, aur peeche se aapko koi kheechta hai, aap kabhi bhi apne co-players ka confidence nahi le paayenge. Maine Babar ko authority di hai, vo behetar samajhte hain for a 27-year-old. Vo bohot confident hai, mature bhi hain. (If your captain is strong, he can take the team ahead, he has that ownership of the side. I’ve played cricket and led the side, I know if you don’t have an authority in the dressing room and someone keeps pulling the strings from behind, you can never have the confidence of players. I’ve given Babar that authority, he is a lot mature for a 27-year-old. He is very confident),” said Ramiz.
