Former captain and ambassador of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Ramiz Raja, is critical of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) sympathy towards tainted fast bowler Mohammad Amir and said that if he had powers to make a call on the matter, he would have never let the young fast bowler play again.
“Pakistan cricket has suffered a lot. I don’t have courage to face any more shocks or jolts again. I have experienced this practically and those who have witnessed such things practically can’t forgive the characters involved in the act,” said Ramiz.
“If I had powers to decide on the matter, I would have never let him play again. As I don’t have any powers, I can just critique, or get frustrated, and pray to God to give people some guidance so that they can create pressure and such Johnny’s never come near Pakistan cricket ever again.”
Ramiz has been critical of the attempts at lobbying for the return of the paceman, disgraced for spot-fixing, since last year and said his return would expose the team to the “virus”.
“It is the most awful and sickening feeling. When a bunch of rogues you share the dressing room with are fighting tooth and nail to lose a match, it kills your desire to play the game, and whips up a desire to kill them.
“Why is the world so keen to see Amir back? The managers of the game, who for whatever reason are trying to fast-track him into the very system that he had wronged, have obviously not experienced the pangs of betrayal and cheating that fixing causes.”
Ramiz, who represented Pakistan in 57 Tests and 158 One-Day Internationals, refused to buy the argument that Amir was naïve when he had committed the crime.
But on Thursday the 23-year-old Amir received the backing of the PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan and head coach Waqar Younis. Their support came just as Pakistan suffered heavy defeats in the ODI and T20 series against England. With the World Twenty20 around the corner and Pakistan clearly lacking match-winning bowlers the PCB chief said Amir was “knocking at the door to be considered”.
