Review of Pakistan’s performance in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 2012 – Part Four
Continued from the previous part…
Quite surprisingly, the veteran all-rounder was not part of the playing-11 to start the tournament, with the team management preferring http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yasir-Arafat-c98241 over the cricketer from Lahore, although he is now considered a limited-over specialist
and a far superior hitter of the ball than Arafat.
The 32-year-old cricketer made a comeback to the national team since the series against Sri Lanka in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Razzaq-c41623 was included in the playing-11 for the all-important Super 8 fixture against Australia.
The all-rounder was not given a chance to show his credentials with the ball on a spin-friendly track but he rose to the occasion with the bat, scoring a 17-ball 22 with the help of a couple of boundaries and a huge six over long-off. The cameo helped Pakistan
post a competitive total of 149 runs on the board.
The hard-hitting batsman was dropped from the playing-11 once again for the semi-final against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sohail-Tanvir-c90665 getting the preference because of his ability to swing the new ball. The left-armer did not disappoint as he
bowled three economical overs.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 failed to chase down a mediocre total of 139 runs on a wearing pitch, with some of the sporting analysts believing that Abdul Razzaq should not have dropped for such an important encounter as his vast experience could have
been useful in a crunch match.
The Green Shirts, who are susceptible to controversies, had a very smooth tournament; however, a scandal arose when the all-rounder, upon landing back home, criticized http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 for not showing faith on him in the semi-final.
Abdul Razzaq claims that he would have won the semi-final for the country, if he was given a chance.
Abdul http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Razzaq-c84421 expressed that the whole team management wanted him in the side but Hafeez decided to go with Tanvir instead.
“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.”
The seasoned cricketer was later issued a show-cause notice and is likely to be handed over a hefty fine as well for breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB’s) code of conduct.
Pakistan’s former leg-spinner and the bowling coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abdul-Qadir-c41605, also believes that the Green Shirts should never have tinkered with the winning combination, especially after a comprehensive victory
over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in their last Super 8 match.
"There was no way you could go in to the semi-final without Razzaq after the way he performed against Australia," Abdul Qadir expressed.
Apart from an all-rounder’s spot, most the team remained the same throughout the tournament, with the skipper showing complete faith on the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Malik-c90088, although they failed to live
up to the expectations. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Asad-Shafiq-c46208 were mere tourists in Sri Lanka as they never got a game apart from the warm-up fixtures.
It still remains a mystery that why http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Junaid-Khan-c77037, the left-arm fast bowler, who bowled brilliantly in Sri Lanka earlier this year, was ignored for the mega event, taking into account Pakistan’s thin resources in the fast bowling line-up.
To be continued…
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