Ramiz Raja says Pakistan faces serious shortage of ‘gun fielders’

Former Pakistan captain turned cricket commentator Ramiz Raja expressed dissatisfaction over the mediocre bowling performance from Pakistan in the first T20I against South Africa.

The number one ranked T20I side failed to live up to their name at Cape Town on Friday, after the Men in Green lost the opener by six runs, while chasing a staggering target of 193 runs. Although the margin of defeat wasn’t much the problem, Pakistan actually lost due to its lacklustre bowling and fielding in the first innings, pointed out Raja.

“It was a pretty ordinary bowling performance; it seemed that the bowlers were terrified to bowl, especially with the new ball,” said Raja while talking at Ramiz Speaks.

The former captain further directed attention towards, Pakistan’s dismal fielding as the team missed a number of run out chances and failed to build pressure on the batting line. “In T20 cricket, one can create number of opportunities through their fielding, unfortunately I can’t see any gun fielder in the Pakistani dugout except for Shadab [Khan] and Fakhar [Zaman], from which one can expect run outs and catches, so Pakistan needs to improve a lot in this department,” said Raja.

About the batting line, Raja opined that the current side consists of too many all-rounders, so there is a place for a specialist batsman, especially in the middle order.

With the T20I series 1-0, Pakistan will take on Proteas in the second T20I on Sunday at Johannesburg.