Ramiz Raja unimpressed with Pakistan's playing XI for first West Indies Test

Pakistan’s former cricketer-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja, in a Youtube video on Friday, was unimpressed with Pakistan playing XI for the first Test against West Indies that started on Thursday.

The 58-year-old believed that Pakistan missed a trick by not playing an extra spinner against West Indies who generally struggle against that type of bowling.

“Pakistan recently have been making comebacks with the ball. Their bowling is in good order. However, I think Pakistan should have gone in with an extra spinner. Yasir Shah has a great record against West Indies and has proved to be a match-winner against them. We know that West Indies batsmen who come to the PSL generally struggle against spin. Why did Pakistan not think like that? Now they have to make do with the combination that they have. They will have to make the opposition struggle with a score of 217 through good bowling now,” Ramiz said.

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The former cricketer stated that both sides are top-notch in unpredictability which makes it hard to assess which side will come out on top.

“When Pakistan and West Indies come face to face, it is hard to assess which side would win or lose or gain advantage over the other because anything can happen. Both sides are top-notch as far as unpredictability is concerned. They can be world-class when it is their day and ordinary when it is not. We saw a mix of that today. Pakistan seemed stuck and could only manage 217 runs in the first innings. First innings runs are very important in Test cricket. They made a comeback with the ball and took two wickets. Abbas bowled brilliantly with the new ball. You expect this from West Indies because they are also a side that makes many mistakes and don’t learn from them,” he concluded.