'Embarrassed' Pakistan need revamp: Rameez

Pakistan past great Rameez Raja has decried the country's slide to their lowest-ever ICC ODI rankings as an "embarrassment" and said the country needed a massive overhaul of its cricket structure.

Pakistan dropped to ninth in the ICC rankings following a 3-0 series whitewash against Bangladesh and the governing body's annual May 1 update which saw points earned in results from 2011-12 dropped, a period where Pakistan enjoyed considerable success.

The country which won the 1992 World Cup is now at risk of missing the next ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in England in 2017, if they cannot lift themselves back into the top eight before the September 30 qualification deadline.

"It is a testament to how over the years the team and the system have refused to evolve and produce worthwhile talent to arrest the slide," Rameez told cricket.com.au.

"It is an embarrassing and alarming situation to see Pakistan getting dropped to number nine in the ODI rankings. I can't imagine Pakistan missing the next ICC Champions Trophy. It will be a massive low."

Pakistan have not won an ODI series in nearly 16 months – they were swept 3-0 by the Australians in the United Arab Emirates last October, and were bundled out of the WorldCup at the quarter-final stage by the same team.

Rameez said massive changes were needed in the country starting at the grassroots level.

"It is a mix of twisted domestic structure, the academy’s poor performance and the non-existence of school cricket that Pakistan has slid from number two to nine in the rankings in the space of a decade," said Rameez.

"Pakistan is still playing 1980s and 1990s style of one-day cricket with wickets in hand at the expense of a competitive batting run rate.

"Pakistan players, coaches and management require a change in strategy where they follow a fearless approach towards game.

"They also need to be aggressive in the selection matters."

Rameez served as the Pakistan Cricket Board's chief executive between April 2003 and August 2004 but chose not to implement any changes, opting to resign to further his career as a television commentator.

He now says Pakistan should look to the newly crowned world champions and current No.1 ranked ODI team for inspiration.

"The reason Australia is world champion and number one is because of a decent domestic structure which does not let them slip into a coma like Pakistan," he said.

"They encourage free-spirited and fearless individuals to be part of the one-day team and they have based their game on attacking cricket."

Pakistan failed to beat Bangladesh in a Test match in the first time in the nation's history this weekend, and face a second Test in Dhaka starting Wednesday. The country's next ODI series is at home against Zimbabwe – the first country to play international cricket in Pakistan since the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009.

Pakistan also have ODI series against Sri Lanka and a return series in Zimbabwe in August. They could play as many as 11 ODIs before the September 30 deadline.

Bangladesh, who replaced Pakistan in the top eight, are scheduled to play at least six ODIs – three each against India and South Africa – at home. The other team at risk of missing a place in the 2017 Champions Trophy, seventh-ranked West Indies, do not play another ODI before September 30.

Should Pakistan miss the tournament, their absence would be a blow to the organisers with no India-Pakistan drawcard fixture. The two fierce rivals have played each other at the past five ICC events, culminating in their World Cup clash in Adelaide in February watched by an estimated 1 billion viewers around the globe.