Former cricketer Ramiz Raja has hinted at changes in the squad as Pakistan look to return to winning ways. The Men in Green began their World Cup campaign with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, with India defeating them by seven wickets last week.
Pakistan performed atrociously with bat and ball against their arch-rivals. When asked to bat first, they were at one point posting a score of 155 for 2, but a mysterious collapse led to them being bowed out, resulting in a paltry total of 191 runs. In response, his team India handled the total with great ease, with less than 31 overs in total he crossed the finish line with 7 wickets in hand.
Babar Azam’s camp will be desperate to recover and get the campaign back on track. Their next match will be against five-time world champions Australia. The match is scheduled to be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday (October 20).
Ramiz Raja on Pakistan’s playing XI:
Ahead of the decisive match between Pakistan and Australia, Ramiz Raja spoke about the importance of adapting to the situation. He then suggested that the Pakistan team management should make space for specialist batsmen and field all-rounders.
“I think Pakistan should start thinking about it.Pakistan took the lead against India with good batting but couldn’t score 200 points, so they should think about chasing after them against Australia.” Ramiz Raja said.
“Pakistan needs to strengthen its bowling keeping the pitch in mind as the climate (in Bangalore) is suitable for batting.” If they have to sacrifice all-rounders for specialists , because you definitely should,” he added.
Pakistan is currently fourth in the points table with two wins and one loss from three matches. Australia, on the other hand, lost two of their first three matches and are now in seventh place. However, Pat Cummins’ side will be in good spirits as they go into the match with a comfortable win over Sri Lanka.
