Former Pakistan cricket team star Ramiz Raja was extremely displeased with the coverage of the ongoing T20I series between Pakistan and Ireland. Ireland won the first T20I but Pakistan bounced back to win the second match in the series that is the start of their beginning for T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan will next take on England in a four T20I series. Raja said that the lack of DRS and replays is not befitting of a match featuring Pakistan and added that he was not able to follow the action properly.
“One thing which I don’t like at all is the coverage of this match. It feels like a club game is being telecast. Only two cameras are there. There’s no DRS, no replays, you don’t get an idea of the boundary rope, you can’t enjoy a good shot being played or good balls being bowled. This is extremely unfair to the Pakistan cricket product. A lot of people love Pakistan cricket. It has an aura around the world. And to present it like this is unfair to Pakistan cricket,” he said on YouTube.
He also said that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should have looked into the matter.
“Someone should have figured it out earlier. If the coverage was going to be like this, whichever broadcasting company it was, should have taken the rights from Cricket Ireland. I know they have the rights, but it should have been taken away and the coverage should have been made much better for this series because this marks the beginning of our road to the World Cup.”
“I can tell you this with certainty if India knew this situation, they would never have allowed such coverage. Because your honour is in your hands. So Pakistan’s honour should also be in their hands. Through coverage like this, our cricket looks flat. And it is unfair,” he added.
Raja further said that the coverage was ‘unfair’ to Pakistan and compared it to the broadcast quality of matches featuring African teams. “We are not an African country that the coverage for our games can be this poor. This series is not telecast in England. It’s not available on Sky. Primarily because it is being covered like this. This is unfair to Pakistan,” the former Pakistan cricket team star concluded.
