21 Facts About Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja was a part of the Pakistani squad which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

Ramiz Raja was born on 14 August 1962 in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan.

Ramiz Raja's 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 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.

Ramiz Raja made his first-class cricket debut in 1978, scoring over 9,000 runs in List A and 10,000 runs in first class matches.

Ramiz Raja made his Test debut against England in 1984 and ODI debut against New Zealand in 1985.

Ramiz Raja was regarded as one of the prominent batters playing in Pakistan's domestic cricket.

When he got his first opportunity to play in a Test match, against England, Ramiz Raja's 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, Ramiz Raja was able to secure a spot in the national side.

Ramiz Raja played international cricket for 13 years, appearing in 57 Test matches, with a career average of 31.83 and scoring two centuries.

Ramiz Raja was a member of the national side that reached the semi-finals of the 1987 World Cup.

Ramiz Raja 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.

Ramiz Raja was awarded the man of the match for his match winning performance which earned Pakistan a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

Ramiz Raja 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.

For Pakistan, Ramiz 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.

Ramiz Raja was recalled to the Pakistan squad and played in the 1996 Cricket World Cup.

Ramiz Raja retired from all forms of cricket in 1997 and since then he has been active as a television commentator and analyst as an administrator for both Pakistan and international cricket.

Ramiz Raja has worked as a commentator on Test Match Special and Sky Sports, during the 2006 England Test series against Pakistan.

Ramiz Raja has worked as the chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, but resigned from his job in August 2004, citing increasing media commitments.

Ramiz Raja continues to provide commentary on Pakistan cricket team's tours as well as in many domestic tournaments and international ICC tournaments.

Ramiz Raja served as the 35th Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board between September 2021 and December 2022.