Ramiz Raja

Calcutta: Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja, also a one-time chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has welcomed the five-year ban slapped on the controversial Shoaib Akhtar.

Ramiz, who is in India on a TV assignment, spoke to The Telegraph from his Ahmedabad hotel on Wednesday evening.

The following are excerpts

Thoughts on the latest ban

Hailing from the same fraternity, I must say it’s sad when a cricketer has to be punished in this manner. However, Shoaib shot himself in the foot and there’s nobody else to blame… Something like this was waiting to happen and there’s a very clear sequence to Shoaib’s self-destruction… He has always been a problem child where Pakistan cricket is concerned… A lost cause for his backers.

Shoaib having the right to appeal

But I hope this ban isn’t overturned… A process has been followed… The procedure has been respected and it’s not that one individual has banned him… I’d be very disappointed if an appeals body overturns this latest punishment.

Whether he’d watched the TV interview where Shoaib tore into the PCB

Parts of it, yes… Shoaib didn’t use abusive language but his tone was definitely abusive… He ridiculed the PCB and was most critical of the system… What needs to be noted is that Shoaib has himself been a big under-performer and has missed many more matches than the number he has played in the past decade or so.

On whether the PCB should’ve been much tougher years ago

Well, the fact is that successive administrations have tried to build bridges… Tried to get a relationship going with Shoaib… But, as has been well documented, he has had his own ideas… The PCB, clearly, gave him a long rope. He’d been on probation, but I’d told you months ago that we hadn’t seen the end of his misdeeds.

Whether Shoaib should’ve been banned for life (he got no more than a 13-match suspension) after he hit teammate Mohammed Asif in the lead-up to last September’s World Twenty20 championship in South Africa

Absolutely… Have you ever come across such an incident? I can’t think of even one…

Having tried to rein in Shoaib when he was the chief executive (from mid-2003 to mid-2004, when he quit)

I did, yes, which is why Shoaib doesn’t like me… I made him undergo those medical tests after the home series against India (early 2004)… I’m sorry to say but I’ve never trusted him… He has never come across as being straight and, in my book, is a bad role model and a bad advertisement for cricket. (After a pause) I remember, when I was captain years ago, he had to be dropped following an adverse report by the manager after an A tour… Zaheer Abbas was probably the manager.

Greats like Imran Khan consistently backing Shoaib

Having played under Imran, I feel totally let down… Feel gutted, really… As captain, he’d been firm on discipline and, once, even sent Abdul Qadir back from Australia on grounds of indiscipline… Imran would never compromise on erratic behaviour and he’d stand for principles… Always… It’s sad that Pakistan’s greatest cricketer is now singing a different tune and is indulging in double standards… Imran has politicised the ban… You can’t only look at the value a particular player could add, you’ve also got to look at what he brings to the dressing room (atmosphere)… Obviously, support from some of the greats has emboldened Shoaib… Imran’s statements have definitely given him strength.

On Pakistan’s sports minister, Khawaja Asif, doing a U-turn and some newly-elected members of the national assembly also getting into the picture

Look, as I’m not in Pakistan, it wouldn’t be proper to comment on this question.

There being no bar on Shoaib turning out for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL)

It’s ridiculous… The PCB should’ve made it clear that it wouldn’t allow him to play anywhere, not even in the IPL, where national teams aren’t involved… Shoaib could use the IPL to gain sympathy… Could project himself as a martyr. If you’re banned, then you’re banned everywhere… That’s how I see it.

Finally, the lessons that need to be learnt

That the line simply can’t be over-stepped and nobody is bigger than the game. Whatever the field, discipline has to matter more than talent.