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Ramiz Hasan Raja (Punjabi, Urdu: رمیز حسن راجہ; born 14 August 1962) is a former Pakistani cricketer who is currently serving as the 36th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Ramiz Raja رميز راجہ
Raja in 2021
35th Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 September 2021
Appointed by	Imran Khan
President	Arif Alvi
Prime Minister	Imran Khan Shehbaz Sharif
Preceded by	Ehsan Mani
Personal details
Born	Ramiz Hasan Raja (1962-08-14) 14 August 1962 (age 60) Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1]
Alma mater	St. Anthony High School, Lahore Sadiq Public School, Bahawalpur Government College, Lahore
Occupation	Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board, Former Pakistani Cricketer
Personal information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Legbreak
Role	Batter
Relations	Saleem Akhtar (father) Wasim Raja (brother) Zaeem Raja (brother) Atif Rauf (cousin)[2]
International information
National side	Pakistan (1984–1997)
Test debut (cap 99)	2 March 1984 v England
Last Test	26 April 1997 v Sri Lanka
ODI debut (cap 56)	6 February 1985 v New Zealand
Last ODI	21 September 1997 v India
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI Matches 57 198 Runs scored 2,833 5,841 Batting average 31.83 32.09 100s/50s 1/22 9/31 Top score 122 119* Balls bowled – 6 Wickets – 0 Bowling average – – 5 wickets in innings – – 10 wickets in match – – Best bowling – – Catches/stumpings 34/0 33/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 31 January 2006

As a player, Raja represented Pakistan (sporadically as a captain) during the 1980s and the 1990s. Since his retirement from cricket, he has been a commentator on international cricket matches.

He also talks about cricket on his YouTube channel Ramiz Speaks.[3][4]

Early life and education

Ramiz Raja's family roots lie in the Indian city of Jaipur, Rajasthan, while on his wife's side, his mother-in-law is from Delhi and his father-in-law is from Karnal, Haryana.[5]

An admirer of Rajasthani architecture, he eventually asked Pakistani architect Nayyar Ali Dada to design his Lahore house on the pattern of Jaipur's Rambagh Palace.[6]

His father Saleem Akhtar was a cricketer during the British colonial era who played for Multan and Sargodha after the partition, while his brother Wasim Raja and his cousin Atif Rauf played for the Pakistan national cricket team, with another brother Zaeem Raja having played first-class cricket as well.

Ramiz Raja is an alumnus of Sadiq Public School Bahawalpur , Aitchison College, Lahore and Government College University, Lahore.[7][8][9]

Domestic career

Ramiz made his first-class cricket debut in 1978, scoring over 9,000 runs in List A and 10,000 runs in 1st class matches. He remains one of only a few to reach 10,000 1st class runs in Pakistan. He got a national call against England. He was regarded as one of the prominent batters playing in Pakistan's domestic cricket.[10]

International career

Golden years

He received his opportunity to play in a Test match against England. His performance was unimpressive, as he was dismissed for 1 run in each innings. However, with the retirement of several players in the Pakistan squad and with the help of his years of experience in first-class cricket, Raja was able to secure a spot in the national side.[11]

Ramiz played international cricket for 13 years, appearing in 57 Test matches, with a career average of 31.83 and scoring two centuries. In the One Day International arena, he played 198 matches and scored 9 centuries.[12] He was a member of the national side that reached the semi finals of the 1987 World Cup. He scored 2 centuries in the 1992 World Cup, which was held in Australia, including a century against New Zealand, who had been undefeated during that period. He was awarded the man of the match for his match winning performance which earned Pakistan a place in the semi-finals of the tournament. In the final against England, Ramiz had the honour of taking the final catch which won the World Cup for Pakistan. This became the pinnacle of his cricketing career, as within a year of this triumph, he had lost form and was dropped from the national side.[10][13]

Obstructing the field

Ramiz became the first player in One Day International history to be given out "obstructing the field" against England, in a match at Karachi in 1987. England had scored 263 runs for 6 wickets during their 44 over innings.[14] For Pakistan, Raja opened the batting and had reached 98 runs when the last ball of the match was bowled, with Pakistan needing 25 runs to win in the last over. During this last over, he hit the ball and sprinted for two runs that would have given him his century, but was well short of the crease when the fielder's return came towards him and Raja knocked the ball away with his bat and was given out for "obstructing the field".[15]

Late career

He was recalled back to the Pakistan squad and played in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. During the 1995–1996 season, he was removed from the captaincy, after Pakistan lost their first home series to Sri Lanka. His final game in a Test match for Pakistan was as captain in the 1996–1997 tour of Sri Lanka, however the team failed to win a match during the series. He retired from all forms of cricket in 1997 and since then he has been active as a television commentator and as an administrator for both Pakistan and international cricket.[16][13]

Commentary career

Raja has worked as a commentator on Test Match Special and Sky Sports, during the 2006 England Test series against Pakistan. He has also worked as the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, but resigned from his job in August 2004, citing increasing media commitments. He continues to provide commentary on Pakistan cricket team's tours as well as in many domestic tournaments and international ICC tournaments.[17][18]

See also

• List of cricket commentators

References

External links

• Ramiz Raja at ESPNcricinfo
• Ramiz Raja on Twitter

Preceded by Ehsan Mani	Chairperson of Pakistan Cricket Board 2021	Succeeded by Incumbent

Preceded by Saleem Malik	Pakistan Cricket Captain 1993–1997	Succeeded by Aamer Sohail

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