‘Still years away from preparing great five-day pitch’ - PCB chief Ramiz Raja responds to Rawalpindi pitch's criticism

The pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium saw a record 506 runs getting scored on Day 1 of the ongoing Pakistan and England first Test match, and the spectacle has garnered plenty of attention from fans and members of the cricketing fraternity for some wrong reasons. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja admitted that the quality of the pitches needs to improve for the five-day format.

Pitches in Pakistan have lately been at the receiving end of a lot of criticism and the PCB chief had earlier opined that drop-in pitches are the way forward. A decade-long hiatus of Test cricket in the country has quite likely put Pakistan on the back foot in terms of the quality of pitches.

"I have really not cracked the code regarding a Test match pitch, unfortunately. Absolutely disappointed with this pitch. The reason why I am stressing on drop-in pitches in Pakistan is because you will go to Multan and Karachi, and you will get a similar flavour. We don't get bounce, it's to do with clay, how we prepare a pitch," Ramiz was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

"I don't know what is happening, T20s and ODI, we are fine and pitches don't come under that kind of scrutiny. But we're still years away from preparing a great five-day pitch," he added.

You have got to buy into a new template: Ramiz Raja

Ramiz further expressed that the Babar Azam-led Men in Green will need to change their current template of red-ball cricket. Adding to this, he also stated that the national side is ‘shy’ from becoming an exciting side.

"You have got to buy into a new template and that is what I am stressing on to the Pakistan cricket team and Babar Azam. Look, I'll take the hate if you lose a Test series, it doesn't matter to be me, but we need to try something different.

Unless we become an exciting Test team, people will not rate us, especially playing at home. Our strength is fast bowling, but I think we are still a little shy from getting there. I don't want to turn the wheel completely overnight so it will take time," he concluded.