Ramiz Raja shockingly blames New Zealand practice facility for Babar Azam's injury: WATCH

The Pakistan contingent faced a major setback after their captain, Babar Azam, injured his thumb during a practice session ahead of the New Zealand vs Pakistan 2020 series. The player has been ruled out for the three-match T20I series and it remains to be seen if he is able to recover in time for the Test matches. Surprisingly, former Pakistan cricketer, Ramiz Raja, has blamed the practice facilities in New Zealand for the prolific batsman's injury.

Babar Azam injury: Ramiz Raja blames the practice venue 

The cricketer-turned-commentator was critical of the training facilities provided to the Pakistan team in New Zealand ahead of their much-awaited tour. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ramiz Raja revealed that he was surprised when he got to know that the Pakistani contingent was sent to Queenstown for their training sessions. The 58-year-old was of the opinion that the place is definitely not suitable for cricket. 

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According to Ramiz Raja, the practice facilities at the venue may not have been of the required standards due to the lack of regular cricketing activities at the place. The ex-cricketer added that because of all these aspects, it is quite possible that there would have been an uneven bounce on the surface, which would have played a major role in Babar Azam's thumb injury. 

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Ramiz Raja also pointed out that because of the time spent in managed isolation, the cricketer's reflexes also would have been a tad slow. He added that these could very well be the reasons why the team's star batsman sustained the injury. He also feels it is mandatory to give attention to the practice centers while preparing for an overseas tour. 

New Zealand vs Pakistan 2020

The Babar Azam injury news came in as a shock for the Pakistani fans, and they were left dejected after their premier batsman was ruled out for the white-ball matches. The two teams will battle it out in three T20Is and two Test matches. The first T20I will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on December 18. 

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Babar Azam stats 

The 26-year-old has established himself as a mainstay in the Pakistani batting order. Along with his elegant batting style, he has also won over fans with his consistency across formats. The player has featured in 29 Test matches and has scored 2045 runs in red-ball cricket with five centuries. In ODIs as well, the star cricketer has amassed 3580 runs in just 77 matches with a fantastic average of 55.94. In the shortest format of the game, Babar Azam has been sensational and has also ruled the ICC T20I player rankings for several months in the past. He has 1681 runs to his name in T20Is.

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Image source: Ramiz Raja Twitter