Srinagar: The former cricketer and outgoing Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja has made a bombshell statement saying that he would have banned Pakistan legends Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis for life if he would have been a decision maker.
Raja made this statement in the backdrop of Justice Qayyum report on match-fixing. Akram was fined and removed from the captaincy. Waqar Younis was also fined after the report was made public.
Talking to Samaa TV, Ramiz stated that he was powerless when Akram and Younis were brought back in the system and had no choice but to work with them.
“I think no one should have had the chance (of coming back to Pakistan cricket). If Wasim Akram’s name is in there, and he was censured for not cooperating, right? It was a borderline case. If I was the decision maker at the time, I would’ve banned them forever,” Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying.
“You brought them back to system. I wasn’t in power at the time. We were told to play with them and work with them, and that was it. No one knew how to tackle that. So many people were involved in that. I don’t know what the compulsion was.”
Raja made it clear that he has zero tolerance policy towards tainted players and would never welcome players like Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt back in the team.
“Whoever is tainted, I’ve zero tolerance on it,” Raja said.
Amir had made a return to Pakistan team years after the charges and represented the side in multiple World tournaments; however, under Ramiz Raja’s tenure, the left-arm pacer was shunned out of the side.
“I’m absolutely clear. People say they’ve had the punishment, move on. But I’ve experienced such situations,” said Ramiz.