Pakistan Cricket Board announces cricket squad for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 ODI series - Part 4
To read the previous part of this article, please click
http://www.senore.com/Pakistan-Cricket-Board-announces-cricket-squad-for-New-Zealand-ODI-series-Part-3-a52510.
The dissection of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s squad for the ODI series against New Zealand continues as we come down to one of the most dangerous hitters in world cricket: Abdul Razzaq. The right-hand all-rounder is also someone who blows hot and
cold and when on song he is by far the most devastating batsman in the world. The long handle grip gives him amazing leverage and he uses it to great effect when in form. The latest demonstration of that came in the 3rd T20 against New Zealand,
and last year when he smashed an unbelievable hundred against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 in UAE and won the match all on his own with 9 sixes. However, consistency remains a problem with him, just as it is with most of the Pakistan players. Razzaq came in the team in 1999
and the captain at the time http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 also needs to find a middle ground in his batting; he does tend to go into his shell when asked to come in too early.
He lacks the ability to build an innings up gradually; he is more at home when he comes in the final 10 overs and has the license to hit all around. While his bowling has faded away in recent times, he used to be deceptively quick when he first came onto the
scene and could bowl up to 145 km/h. However, he can still do a decent job with the ball and uses the new ball to good effect.
In the spin department, Pakistan has their leading off-spinner Saeed Ajmal. Many also call him the reincarnation of the great http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saqlain-Mushtaq-c88743. Ajmal had really made the spinner’s position in the limited overs team his own, but
ironically he has also started to suffer from the same problem that his idol Saqlain did at the end of his career. Ajmal has started to use his mystery ball, the ‘Doosra’, a bit too often and has become predictable in recent times. However, he is an asset
to have as he can hold the batsmen in the middle of the innings, and is also hard to get away from in the final overs. Barring, of course, the unfortunate final over that he bowled in the semifinal of the 2010 T20 World Cup where Michael Hussey hit him for
3 sixes and won the game for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
The 2nd spinner in the squad is Abdur Rehman; like Ajmal, he also had to wait a while for his chance in the national team. That also seems to be the reason he is also more composed than his younger teammates, and does
judge some situations better than others. The left-arm orthodox spinner is normally termed as a bowler ideal for limited overs, but by becoming the man of the match in the first Test against New Zealand, he certainly put that theory to rest. The left-arm bowler
does use flight and length well to compensate for his lack of variety. He is not at all bad with the bat, and can produce handy runs down the order so he is definitely an asset in the team. However, it is unlikely that Ajmal and Rehman will both be picked
in the same eleven too often, so it would make for healthy competition for places between the two.
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