Hashami: Ramiz Raja - Mr. Clean of Pak Cricket (Oct 95)

Title: Cleaning Up Their Act - Pakistan`s new boss has one clear goal Author: Shahid Hashmi Source: Inside Edge (October 1995)

SHAHID HASHAMI examines the rise to power of Pakistan`s new captain, Ramiz Raja.

With an impeccable and untarnished record, Pakistan`s new captain Ramiz Raja is regarded as the "Mr Clean" of cricket in his country.

Diehard fans of the game in Pakistan held their breath through four months without a national selection committee or captain before his coronation in late August.

Cricket in Pakistan is followed with fanatacism, but the happenings off the field had made even the staunchest followers disheartened and distracted in the aftermath of the bribery allegations against former skipper Salim Malik.

Finally, just 10 days before the start of the home series against Sri Lanka last month, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced the new leader.

Veteran Javed Miandad and former Test `keeper Moin Khan had also been touted. If there was a surprise about the 33-year-old Ramiz`s appointment, it was that he had been superseded as a Pakistan opener by Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar over the preceeding 12 months. With their effectiveness at Test and one-day level, Ramiz had no place in the team.

The Board has clearly decided that a leader is priority No.1. They have entrusted the responsibility of guiding Pakistan out of a dark period to a man who has the ingredients of education, common sense and honesty.

Those high up in Pakistan`s decision-making process have said enough is enough and it is high time Pakistan`s cricketing image was rebuilt.

Ramiz`s appointment has the backing of even the President of Pakistan. Coupled with the appointment of Majid Khan as team manager and Mushtaq Mohammad as coach for the tour of Australia, the first steps have been taken to better the team`s image.

Ramiz has wisdom and honesty, plus the knack to infuse descipline in the team, a quality badly missing in the post-Imran Khan era.

He demonstrated these very traits during Pakistan`s 1994-95 domestic season by leading Allied Bank to a thumping triumph in the country`s premier tournament.

To lead a talented side like Pakistan is a source of great pride, but also one of the thorniest of jobs.

The notorious England all-rounder Ian Botham once said that the Pakistan team is like a bunch of fighting women. Sadly, in the post-Imran period, this bitter remark had fitted the Pakistan team like a well-knit garment.

The squabbling within the side has not allowed one man to hold the captaincy.

When Imran sensed, after leading Pakistan to the 1992 World Cup, that he was no longer required, he decided to quit. In came Miandad. He led his country to a 2-1 series triumph over England in England, lost badly on a one-day tour of Australia and tasted success in a one-off Test in New Zealand.

He was promptly thrown out of the job by the Board abd Wasim Akram was installed.

"Wasim is Pakistan`s future captain," was a comment made time and again by Imran.

He was right in the sense that Akram, the player, motivated many Pakistan wins, but it was a loose, crude fit when he tried to fill Imran`s boots as captain.

A player revolt led by his pace partner, Waqar Younis, again jolted the team. It was in this climate that Salim Malik was brought in as "compromise captain".

Malik lead the team well, before his adamant approach and the allegations of bribery crept in to sideline him. It is an ironic twist that it is now Ramiz replacing Malik.

On last year`s tour of Sri Lanka, the same player was on the outer with Malik and team manager Intikhab Alam in terms of selection.

He was not given a chance on the tour and controversy erupted when Ramiz refused to play when asked to gear up at late notice for a one-dayer in the Singer World Series in which Australia participated.

"It is always an honour to play for your country and I was desperate to play in Sri Lanka, but when one is asked to play at the 11th hour without being mentally prepared, it is impossible to comply," Ramiz remarked at the time.

Times have changed. The pressure is now on Ramiz, both on and off the field. He aqccepts the heavy responsibility now on his shoulders, more so should his appointment for the Sri Lankan series be extended to the tour Down Under as expected.

Touring Australia has always been a major and difficult challenge for Pakistan teams over the years.

"Captaincy means responsibility, as it is the captain who is going to answer for his team," Ramiz says.

"My top priority really will be to get the unit going as one and do my best to lead the side by example.

"We have been losing crunch games primarily because of the lack of discipline and tean spirit, so I`ll be making sure that there is no ill-discipline, and Pakistan`s image is uplifted in international cricket."

Allegations against Pakistani players being able to make some quick bucks through betting links abounded even before Shane Warne and Tim May spun their surprise against Malik.

How do these allegations creep in?

"Being a senior cricketer, I have noticed certain elements trying to deharmonise team spirit," Ramiz says. "When your attention is not focussed on cricket and your interest wavers, certain elements, which I won`t disclose right now, intrude.

"But with an effective team management, I believe we will be able to pull through."

The Faisalabad-born Ramiz hails from a family rich in cricket heritage. His older brother, Wasim Raja, played 57 Tests. Ramiz himself had represented Pakistan in 48 Tests and 159 one-day internationals before his career at the top level was reborn last month.

Source :: Inside Edge