Razzaq’s last appearance for Pakistan was October 2012 against Australia at the World Twenty20. PHOTO: AFP
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Selection Committee, following their meeting on Monday, handed a list of over 50 players to the board for acquiring their multiple visas for the back-to-back home series against South Africa and Sri Lanka in the Gulf country.
An official close to the selection committee confirmed that the list included all the current national cricketers as well as top domestic performers.
“The selection panel has included all the possible candidates,” the official told The Express Tribune.
“Razzaq is present in the list that also includes Shoaib Malik.
“The list will be later discussed for selection of the final squads for all the three formats. The purpose of forming the list was to avoid any visa hiccup at the eleventh hour.”
Razzaq’s inclusion among the probables holds significance as the senior all-rounder was never considered for selection following his omission from the Twenty20 squad after the World T20 Championship in Sri Lanka last year.
He was fined after the event by the PCB for his media outburst against Mohammad Hafeez, accusing the national T20 captain for sidelining him in the semi-final.
The selectors maintained that the all-rounder’s absence from domestic competitions was the reason for his snub.
However, Razzaq, a veteran of 265 One-Day Internationals and 30 Twenty20s, emerged on the scene with the Ramazan cricket tournaments last August and announced that he will continue his pursuit of making a comeback into the team.
“I have shown my availability to the selectors for the South Africa series,” Razzaq told reporters yesterday.
“I am hoping for a comeback in the series. I am fit and will continue my training to get in best shape before the series. I am working hard but my inclusion depends on the selectors.”
Meanwhile, the official said Razzaq will have to undergo an extensive fitness test to become eligible for selection as the committee hardly has any assessment about his form and fitness due to his absence from recent domestic events.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2013.
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It's strange how people have included many players in their list who have performed poorly on a consistent basis and they don't find space for Abdul Razzaq who has performed every time he is given a chance. The way our batting is at the moment, Abdul Razzaq deserves a place in the test side as well. He would definitely perform much better than many of the players in the side. His record testifies that; hundreds in ODIs and Tests. However, there is a scenario where Abdul Razzaq could be excluded and the name of that scenario is corruption and only corruption.
Too many old players are already in the team,no doubt razzaq was one of the greatest all-rounders but now its enough for them and please no need of shoaib malik....there are many players who are not even known by viewers who played in under 19 and under 23...for example Babar Azam and Sami Aslam who are constantly performing well...and now they have practised Hammad Azam as captain in under 23 and now he should play in t20 and OneDayInternationals and then in test and after he becomes a good player of t20 he should be named the captain of t20 while right now these three should constantly be in team while Raza Hasan and Ehsan Adil should also be in the team....for me the captains should be Tests:Misbah ODI:Hafeez T20 Hafeez........Taufiq umar should be in the test team and after some time Hammad Azam should be the captain of t20....for me the odi squad should be: B.Azam A.Shahzad M.Hafeez U.Akmal H.Azam S.Aslam U.Amin E.Adil R.Hasan J.Khan M.Irfan Reserved Players Anwar Ali S.Ajmal W.Riaz I.Nazir A.Shafiq
Razzaq and Shoaib Malik again. Please no, not again. I have nothing against Razzaq but he has played enough. Shoaib Malik is a tried and test failure. There are already enough seniors in the team blocking entry of young players to be tested for future development. I doubt selectors might include Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat and Younis Khan in ODIs as well.
Best XI for ODIs in my opinion is: 1). Nasir Jamshed 2). Ahmed Shehzad 3). Umar Amin 4). Harris Sohail 5). Misbah ul Haq 6). Umar Akmal (wk) 7). Hafeez / Afridi 8). Rahman / Zulfiqar Babar 9). Saeed Ajmal 10). Junaid Khan 11). Irfan / Umar Gul
In One day and t20, we have a bit too long tail; Razzaq would be very useful, at least in t20.
If anything razzaq should be made a captain of odi and 2020
Razzaq should be given chance in ODI and T-20 teams....he has a couple of years in him.....
An hugely talented cricketer who has been wasted by the powers that run Pakistan Cricket. Compare his record to the likes of Shane Watsons and Ravi Boparas, and then see how they're treated by their boards - its scandalous. Abdul Razaaq can win matches single handedly and has one of the best all-round record in the history of the game. But then when did merit ever count for anything in Pakistan? Oh yes, actually during Imran's era it did. But that was about it. Wasim didn't like Waqar, so Waqar watched from the balcony. Now Hafeez doesn't like Razaaq, so he has to watch Hafeez demolish poor Zimbabwe singlehanded. In fact his total aggregate in the four test innings in Harare was 59 runs and 0 wickets. So why was Razaaq not even on the balcony? Because he was probably on the roof thinking should he, or shouldn't he....?