Future of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s senior players – Part Three
Continued from the previous part...
Abdul http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 is amongst those cricketers who returned to the national team during the series against the Baggy Greens in UAE in September, with the selectors looking to rely on his T20 experience. The seasoned all-rounder however,
got limited opportunities to prove his worth and struggled to find a place in the playing-11 during the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758.
The hard-hitting all-rounder just got one game in the mega event, against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in the Green Shirts’ last Super 8 encounter. The cricketer from Lahore smashed a 17-ball 22 with the help of a couple of boundaries and a six, which
turned out to be an important innings in the context of the match. Quite surprisingly however, the 32-year-old cricketer was made to sit on the bench in the semi-final against Sri Lanka at Colombo, much to his disappointment.
Upon arriving back home, the experienced player lashed out at his captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898, for not showing confidence on his abilities and claims that he would have won the all-important fixture for the Men Green, who failed to chase
down a mediocre total of 139 runs.
“It was Hafeez’s decision not to pick me for the semi-final, not anyone else’s, he should now speak up and admit it was his own decision,” said the all-rounder. "I was very sad and disappointed to not get a chance to play in the semi-final.
I was mentally prepared for the big match and it came as a huge letdown to know I was not playing.”
Abdul Razzaq was later fined by the PCB for giving controversial statements, also withdrawing him from the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hong-Kong-c2919 Sixes squad.
There are different opinions of the cricket pundits regarding the all-rounder’s future. Some believe that he still has a role to play for the Green Shirts in the limited-over formats; whereas, there is a school of thought which thinks
that the veteran cricketer should call it a day from international sport and should focus on playing T20 leagues all around the world only.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Razzaq-c41623 should have been a part of the playing-11 throughout
the mega event because of his immense experience, which is always a plus in pressure situations.
"I don't think Abdul Razzaq has been treated fairly," Qadir said. "There was no way you could go in to the semi-final without Razzaq after the way he performed against Australia."
There is no doubt about the fact that the lower-middle order batsman has been a brilliant servant of Pakistan over the years, winning a number of matches on his own. However, it is also a fact that Abdul Razzaq has lost venom in his
bowling, which used to be quite effective in past. He is also not as consistent with the bat as he used to be. To make his case weaker, there is a huge question-mark over the ageing cricketer’s ability to field.
In the presence of an emerging all-rounder in Hammad Azam, the selectors may show reluctance in giving more chances to Abdul Razzaq, who did not do any good to his future prospects by openly criticising Hafeez.
To be continued…
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