Wouldn’t be surprised if Afghanistan upset Pakistan in T20 matches: Ramiz Raja

Afghanistan batter Hazratullah Zazai was all over on social media after he smashed 66 runs and took his team Peshawar Zalmi to the finals of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Initially slow to begin with, Zazai cashed in on the good start and made Islamabad United bowlers look hapless. The left-hand batter’s composure and his ball-striking caught the attention of former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja, who boldly told that Afghanistan can beat a top team like Pakistan when the two teams play bi-lateral T20 matches.

Over the past two years, Afghanistan have managed to play some good cricket and came close to upsetting Pakistan and India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019. Zazai made his international debut in the year 2019 and has cemented the place in the team by consistently scoring runs at the top of the order.

He also had a good T20I series against Zimbabwe in the month of March and has carried that form into the PSL. Naturally, Raja was quite impressed by the youngster’s run-scoring ability and lavished praise on the southpaw on his YouTube channel.

“Pakistani fans had not seen a lot of Zazai before. There are a few more players like him in the Afghanistan team. Islamabad United had three T20 players, who are in the current Pakistan team. They bowled to Zazai, including Shadab Khan, who is the vice-captain of the Pakistan T20 team. But, none of them could make any impact on Zazai, who has raw talent and ability. His temperament is really strong. This is the attitude that makes Afghanistan a dangerous side. I wouldn’t be surprised if Afghanistan upset Pakistan if two T20 matches are played between the two teams.”

Pakistan too needs to produce players like Hazratullah Zazai reckons Ramiz Raja

The cricketer-turned-commentator further pointed out Pakistan’s failure to produce match-winners like Zazai. Raja feels Afghanistan has all the bases covered in both bowling and batting departments. He also felt Zazai like players should be backed to play in the Pakistan team, as these players have an ability to deliver under crunch situations.

“Afghanistan have very good spinners, they have experience in Rashid Khan and a lot of very good talent. They looked slightly weak in the batting department. But, if Zazai continues to play this way (things could change). They also have (Najibullah) Zadran. We have seen how nicely he had anchored the innings in the middle-order during the PSL itself. Pakistan should hear the danger bells ringing. They need to find out why they cannot produce players like Zazai, who can stand up and deliver under pressure. They need to introspect.”