I am surprised over talks of changing our 'best-ever' opening pair - Ramiz Raja

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja is surprised over the topic of changing the opening pair of skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in T20Is.

While talking in an exclusive interview with Cricket Pakistan, former Pakistan shed light on various aspects of Pakistan cricket, including Pakistan Junior League, and national men's team performance.

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Ramiz disagreed with the notion that Pakistan is not evolving in the shortest format of the game.

"People say we play old-style T20, I disagree, our team is very good," the 57-year-old said.

"Pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan is our best-ever pair, I am surprised that people want to separate them. In the past, more than ten pairs were tried and people used to say that the Pakistan team did not have a good pair, now that we have a great pair of openers, people discuss what binds our fantastic openers together," Ramiz said.

Meanwhile, the 60-year-old is confident Shaheen Afridi will be effective as he used to be before his knee injury.

"A knee injury is different from a normal injury, it needs a lot of care; Shaheen has planned the whole way, he will come to Australia to practice and also play two warm-up games, this will give us all an idea of ​​his fitness and rhythm," he added.

"In the absence of Shaheen, our pacers filled the gap and the team didn't make us feel his absence by their approach. This a good point," he maintained.

On the question of feeling extra pressure when the opening match was against India in the World Cup, the board chief said: "Pressure is in every game. Pakistan team was not given much importance in the last World Cup, but we won five matches. We have to give credit to this team, this team does not disappoint. Their achievements are very high. When the winning graph is seventy-five percent, it means you are making less mistakes. Consistency in performance every day is not easy, it is a tough game."

Ramiz Raja also opened up on the top four teams of the world cup, emphasizing Pakistan team cannot be ignored because of their combination. "The teams of the Western bloc have been more successful on these pitches but Asian teams cannot be ignored as our strength is spinners. Pakistan's real strength is batting and bowling, our combination is very strong."

Ramiz said Pakistan have the best squad to win the world cup. "Our team is winning but when they lost two matches together, criticism starts. Compared to bilateral series, there is a little relief in the World Cup, after a tough match, there is an easy opponent."

Pakistan Junior League (PJL) is currently taking place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, it is a dream project of Ramiz and it is a part of a process to make national team better and stronger.

"If the team as a whole is giving you good results then it should be owned. Fans are supporting this team, commercial partners are with us. We want continuity in performance, a process has been initiated for this, junior league is also a part of it. We are try to ensure that whatever talent comes, should go through a process and reach the national team. A ten-year-old child can now make cricket his livelihood"