Ramiz Raja responds to ‘controversial’ interview with Shan Masood

Commentator and former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has broken silence over criticism regarding his “belittling” conversation with national Test captain Shan Masood.

In his vlog, Ramiz Raja clarified that his intention was never to belittle Shan Masood. “It is my right to question the players, and everyone will gain respect from Pakistan’s success,” he said.

Ramiz Raja stated that no one watched the complete interview so that he won’t comment on it. He explained that his question was about the chaos after losing six matches. “I asked Shan Masood how he developed patience after those losses. Shan Masood is the age of my son, and we often discuss batting,” he added.

Ramiz Raja mentioned that he questioned Shan Masood about his issues with playing shots towards the league side. “After one win, we forget that we have many milestones to achieve. When Pakistan lost six Test matches, I did not say to remove Shan Masood. I don’t pay attention to social media talk. There is a lot of politics to keep me under pressure. People who haven’t played cricket are talking about it, and it seems that Pakistan cricket only lives on social media,” he remarked.

Ttwo days ago, Pakistan defeated England by nine wickets in the third and decisive Test match, winning the series 1-2, thanks to their spinners’ excellent bowling. This victory marked Pakistan’s first home Test series win in almost three and a half years, with their last home series win in January 2021 against South Africa.

However, despite this crucial win against England, commentator Ramiz Raja engaged in a non-serious conversation with captain Shan Masood. During the post-match conversation, Ramiz Raja sarcastically remarked on Shan Masood’s six failures as captain and suggested that spinner Noman Ali might be anaemic.

This behaviour drew severe criticism on social media. Users strongly disapproved of Ramiz Raja’s attitude at such a moment, stating that publicly insulting the national team’s captain is inappropriate.

Meanwhile, the PCB has also expressed its concerns to the broadcasters over this matter. The PCB wrote a letter to the broadcasters, informing them of Ramiz Raja’s behaviour and expressing their reservations.