Ramiz Raja defends Shan Masood: You can’t expect miracles from ordinary players

Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has strongly come to the defense of Shan Masood following his sacking as the country’s Test captain, arguing that no captain can be expected to have consistent success with an underperforming team.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) earlier this month he replaced Masood with Babar Azam ahead of the upcoming Test series against the West Indies and England, marking the end of a turbulent 16-match stint at the helm.

Masood, who replaced Babar as Test captain at the end of 2023, oversaw a difficult period for Pakistan cricket. Under his leadership, the team won just four of their 16 Tests and lost 12, including a disappointing 2-0 home series defeat to Bangladesh earlier this year.

However, Ramiz believes the criticism leveled at Masood is unfair and insists the problems run much deeper than the captain.

“You give him an ordinary test team and then expect good results from him,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel.

“If I were Shane, I’d put in a written protest to the board that if the captain is consistently getting a group of ordinary players, how can you expect positive results?”

The former PCB chairman also questioned the logic behind making the captain solely responsible for Pakistan’s struggles in the longest format.

“If the standard of the Test team is not good, then only the captain is responsible for it,” he added.

BABAR AZAM RETURNS AS PAKISTAN SEARCH FOR A FRESH BEGINNING

The PCB’s decision to reinstate Babar marks his second stint as Pakistan’s Test captain. The star batsman previously led the side between 2020 and 2023 before stepping down across formats after Pakistan’s disappointing ODI World Cup campaign in India.

Pakistan’s selectors defended the change in management by pointing to the team’s poor results under Masood, with selector Aaqib Javed admitting that the board had not made the progress it had hoped for during his tenure.

Babar will now lead Pakistan in a two-Test series against the West Indies later this month before the team travels to England for a five-match series in August and September. There are several new faces in the squad for both tournaments, with four uncapped players earning call-ups.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

11 Jul 2026 18:19 IST