I-Cup was a lesson for youngsters: Raja

“People back home appreciated the team’s performance in the Independence Cup. We had brought a young side, inexperienced in bowling. Yet, we improved with every game,” Raja said.

The Pakistan skipper said, “Under the circumstances, we did pretty well and our youngsters learnt to play under pressure, in front of huge crowd at all centres.”

He said, overall the performance was good and “we would like to improve upon that in the coming tournament in Hyderabad.”

Raja admitted that he would have been happier winning the Independence Cup. “On a personal note, a title-win would have given me immense pleasure. But the Sri Lankans played really well in the finals.”

He said the team members enjoyed their stay in India last month during the Independence Cup and were “happy to be back to strengthen the ties between the two countries.”

Talking about the current team for the Siyaram Cup, Raja said, “It is more or less the same squad that played in the Independence Cup. We are still awaiting confirmation from Ijaz Ahmed, who had gone to play in the English county championships.”

Reiterating his earlier statement that both India and Pakistan should play against each other more often, Rameez Raja said, “I am happy the two teams are meeting each other so frequently in recent weeks. We’ll again be playing in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka next month. It augurs well for the game in the sub-continent.”

The team will leave for Hyderabad tomorrow morning. Hosts India and New Zealand are the two other teams participating in the Siyaram Cup, hosted by the Hyderabad Cricket Association to honour former Ranji players from the state.