Pakistan Cricket Players: Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq Biography
Full Name: Abdul Razzaq
Date of Birth: Dec 02, 1979, Lahore, Punjab
Major Team: Pakistan, Asia XI, Hampshire, Hampshire 2nd XI, Hyderabad Heroes, ICL Pakistan XI, Khan Research Labs, Lahore, Lahore Lions, Middlesex, Pakistan International Airlines, Surrey, Worcestershire
Playing Roll: All Rounder
Batting Style: Right
Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium
Nick Name: Abdur Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq was once rapid enough to open the bowling and remains composed enough to bat anywhere, though he is discovering that the lower-order suits him nicely. His bowling - the reason he was first noticed - is characterised by a galloping approach, accuracy, and reverse-swing. But it is his batting that is more likely to win matches. He boasts a prodigious array of strokes and is particularly strong driving through cover and mid-off off both front and back foot. He has two gears: block or blast. Cut off the big shots and Razzaq gets bogged down, although patience is his virtue as he demonstrated in a match-saving fifty against India in Mohali in 2005. Just prior to that he had also played a bewilderingly slow innings in Australia, scoring four runs in over two hours. When the occasion demands it though, as ODIs often do, he can still slog with the best of them: England were pillaged for a 22-ball 51 at the end of 2005. and then again for nearly 60 runs in the last three overs of an ODI in September the following year.

It has hardly been smooth sailing though through his career. He suffered a slump, particularly in his bowling, between 2002 and 2004 when, though his place in the team wasn't under threat, there was uncertainty over how best to use him. But there were signs he was rediscovering some of his old guile if not his pace and nip. And if the pitch is in anyway helpful to seam - as it was in his first and only Test five-wicket haul at Karachi in 2004 or against India at the same venue in January 2006 - he can be a proper danger. Though Kamran Akmal's hundred overshadowed all in the Karachi win over India, Razzaq's performance was easily his most emphatic as an allrounder: he scored 45 and 90 as well as taking seven wickets in the match. A combination of injuries and poor form put his Test place into question and a knee injury days before the 2007 World Cup meant Pakistan missed his presence in a disastrous campaign.

A lackluster comeback to international cricket against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and mediocre performance in the practice matches saw Razzaq being omitted from the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship and consequently announce his retirement from international cricket. He then went on to sign for Worcestershire towards the end of the county season as well as signing up with the Indian Cricket League, which ruled him out of Pakistan contention. He took back his decision to retire but committed himself to the ICL for two seasons, during which he served the Hyderabad Heroes as one of their star players.

After a global amnesty and quitting the ICL, he was welcomed back to the Pakistan fold for the World Twenty20 in England and made an immediate impact as Pakistan won the tournament. His Test comeback also looked set to be complete after he was included in Pakistan's 15-man squad for the tour of Sri Lanka in June. Early in his career he promised to be Pakistan's most complete allrounder since Imran Khan, and though for a variety of reasons he hasn't translated that into achievement, his country wouldn't mind having just a very solid allrounder.

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct
Tests	46	77	9	1946	134	28.61	4741	41.04	3	7	230	23	15
ODIs	262	226	57	5063	112	29.95	6214	81.47	3	23	382	124	33
T20Is	26	24	9	346	46*	23.06	274	126.27	0	0	17	20	2
First-class	117	183	27	5254	203*	33.67			8	28			32
List A	322	277	67	6342	112	30.20			3	33			46
Twenty20	71	66	17	1376	109	28.08	958	143.63	1	5	122	66	9

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	46	76	7008	3694	100	5/35	7/155	36.94	3.16	70.0	4	1	0
ODIs	262	251	10845	8503	267	6/35	6/35	31.84	4.70	40.6	8	3	0
T20Is	26	19	315	360	18	3/13	3/13	20.00	6.85	17.5	0	0	0
First-class	117		18564	10818	340	7/51		31.81	3.49	54.6		11	2
List A	322		13761	11032	364	6/35	6/35	30.30	4.81	37.8	13	3	0
Twenty20	71	64	1271	1552	79	4/13	4/13	19.64	7.32	16.0	2	0	0

Recent matches

Bat & Bowl	Team	Opposition	Ground	Match Date	Scorecard
0/14, 3	Pakistan	v India	Mohali	30 Mar 2011	ODI # 3147
1/4	Pakistan	v West Indies	Dhaka	23 Mar 2011	ODI # 3142
2/8, 20*	Pakistan	v Australia	Colombo (RPS)	19 Mar 2011	ODI # 3139
1/24	Pakistan	v Zimbabwe	Pallekele	14 Mar 2011	ODI # 3132
0/49, 62	Pakistan	v New Zealand	Pallekele	8 Mar 2011	ODI # 3123
8, 1/16	Pakistan	v Canada	Colombo (RPS)	3 Mar 2011	ODI # 3116
3, 0/23	Pakistan	v Sri Lanka	Colombo (RPS)	26 Feb 2011	ODI # 3109
8*, 0/23	Pakistan	v Kenya	Hambantota	23 Feb 2011	ODI # 3105
-	Pakistan	v England	Fatullah	18 Feb 2011	Other OD
4, 3/31	Pakistan	v Bangladesh	Dhaka	15 Feb 2011	Other OD