Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has attributed Pakistan’s underwhelming home pitch conditions during his tenure to former captain Babar Azam, marking a significant shift in his stance.

Speaking during the BBC Test Match Special (TMS) broadcast at the second Test between Pakistan and England in Multan, Raja revealed that Babar had a key role in pitch-related decisions, despite Raja’s earlier defence of the surfaces.

During the broadcast, Raja said, "I wasn’t really bossing the pitch preparation. I was only listening to Babar. When he’d walk into my room, I’d ask him what plans he had to beat Australia. He came up with the strategy, and even though I sometimes questioned it, he was the captain at the end of the day."

“It becomes a guessing game when you do not know the nature of a pitch. You can't really plan for an assault if the pitch is not going to behave properly or to your liking and to your strength. And that's been the major reason, a major cause for Pakistan's debacle at home. The pitches have not really responded to the kind of talent that you picked to perform,” he added.

This admission signals a departure from Raja’s previous public comments defending the pitches, particularly during Pakistan’s 2022 series against Australia. Raja had emphasized that the flat pitches, which drew heavy international criticism, were designed to shield Pakistan’s limited resources against Australia’s formidable bowling attack.

The Rawalpindi Test during that series, where only 14 wickets fell over five days, faced backlash from critics. Australia's Steve Smith even described the wicket as “dead and benign,” prompting Raja to justify the strategy, stating, “A drawn match is never a good advertisement for Test cricket, but just for the heck of it, we can’t prepare a fast pitch or a bouncy pitch and put the game in Australia’s lap.”

However, Raja’s latest remarks indicate that Babar Azam had a considerable influence over the pitch strategy, and he also blamed the unpredictable nature of the surfaces for Pakistan’s struggles in home Tests. “You can't really plan for an assault if the pitch is not going to behave properly or to your liking,” he explained.

The 62-year-old also reflected on Babar Azam's captaincy, praising his leadership in white-ball formats but expressing frustrations with his Test captaincy. "Partly, I rated him. He did well in white-ball cricket, but not so much in Tests. I was frustrated at times with how he set the field and managed things," he admitted, though he also acknowledged Babar’s ability to maintain a calm dressing room atmosphere.

Highlighting Babar and Shaheen Afridi’s importance to Pakistan cricket’s brand, the former cricketer concluded, "They are the advertisements. When you're flipping through cricket channels, why would you stop for Pakistan cricket? Maybe to watch Babar’s cover drive or Shaheen’s yorkers. Remove them, and it doesn’t look great from a sponsor’s or fan’s perspective, it doesn’t look great."