If any Pakistani cricketer who was ever to be unfairly treated by the PCB it has to be Abdul Razzaq. Abdul Razzaq was at one time in 2010 was becoming an even better all rounder than Shahid Afridi. This can be proven by his match winning century in an ODI against South Africa which was miraculously won by Abdul Razzaq's clean striking of the ball when he literally won the match single handely smashing South African bowlers all over the ground. Pakistan won that match by just one wicket after being set a target of 280 plus by South Africa, thanks to Abdul Razzaq. After the end of 2011 World Cup Abdul Razzaq was hardly selected in the team with Afridi especially giving the reason that Razzaq's bowling was becoming exceedingly slow. It was true that Abdul Razzaq was losing pace but he could have been selected as a batting all rounder given his great big hitting ability.
Abdul Razzaq made an immediate impact at the 1999 World Cup with his great All round ability with both bat and ball. As a batsman he was coming at No. 3 in batting order and played useful knocks in that position by seeing off the new ball and making it easy for the rest of the batting as in England batting becomes easier as the ball becomes older when it starts swinging less. As bowler he was bowling big inswinging deliveries at high pace making it difficult for opposition batsmen to score runs and picking up useful wickets. Abdul Razzaq played a vital role in Pakistan reaching the finals of that 1999 World Cup and was the find of the tournament for Pakistan.
The tournament which bought Abdul Razzaq instant fame was the Carlton and United Series in 2000 featuring Australia and India other than Pakistan. Abdul Razzaq's great all round performances with both bat and ball brought him the man of the tournament award in that triangular series in Australia.
Abdul Razzaq will always be remembered for his great all round ability with both bat and ball that made him a successful all rounder and also for rescuing Pakistan a number of times with his match winning performances with both bat and ball. He also played a vital role in Pakistan winning the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup by opening the bowling alongwith Mohammad Amir in that World Cup. If he wasnt treated poorly by PCB who knows he might have played beyond his retirement in 2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment