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Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja is all set to take over as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman. The decision comes after a meeting with former World Cup-winning captain and current Prime Minister Imran Khan, who agreed to a change at the top level of PCB. Raja will now replace Ehsan Mani once the formalities related to the succession are completed.
Notably, both Raja and Mani had a meeting with PM Imran on August 23. Post the meeting, it was reported that the PM was set to take a call on the matter as everyone waited for a decision from the PM's office. Finally, the decision has come three days later.
"The aim is to reset Pakistan cricket's GPS and will be in pursuit of excellence," Raja, who was also a Chief Executive Officer of PCB, told Cricbuzz, confirming that he has taken the job.
In ODI and Test format it's hard for Pakistan to go past pool stage: Raja
Earlier, Ramiz Raja, who has over 10,000 first-class runs said that the Pakistan cricket team cannot make it to the finals of tournaments. He also added that their only chance is reaching the semifinals in the T20 format. Raja made this comment while reflecting on his meeting with the PM.
"Pakistan has been extremely inconsistent and, let's be fair, that the ranking in each format reflects that Pakistan cannot make it into the final of tournaments. The only chance they have is to play the semi-final in T20 format while considering the ODI and Test format it's hard for them to go past the pool stage. So, I have updated him [Imran Khan] on things on the cricketing front. We had a productive meeting and it is now his call on how to proceed," ESPNcricinfo quoted Raja as saying.
"I did meet with the PM and presented him with a roadmap for how Pakistan cricket can go forward. It was a cricket-centric discussion on the problems Pakistan cricket is facing and what possible steps can be taken to improve the overall performance. I am glad he called me up and heard me out. He is concerned about the state of cricket overall and is open to discussion," he added.
