Abdul Razzaq hits out at Waqar Younis for campaign against 'senior' players
All-rounder says the head coach has an agenda against senior players, such as Muhammad Yousuf and even Shahid Afridi
PHOTOS: AFP
All-rounder Abdul Razzaq censured head coach Waqar Younis for launching campaign against established ‘senior’ players.
"Till Waqar is the coach I will never be considered for a comeback to the national team," Razzaq complained, according to NDTV.
Claiming the campaign was not only against him, Razzaq revealed the head coach quarreled with Shahid Afridi when he was the captain of one-day and T20 squads in 2011 and later submitted an adverse report about the skipper to the Pakistan Cricket Board that led to his ouster.
"For some reason since Waqar became head coach he had an agenda against us senior players including myself, Muhammad Yousuf and even Shahid Afridi," he added.
However, Razzaq did not only reserve his criticism for Younis and lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board for having no consistent policy for appointing key persons in the national team.
"Whether Waqar left midway through his contract in 2011 himself or was told to resign by the board, I don't understand how the cricket board reappointed him to the same position last year. That means either then or now the board made a wrong decision," the 35-year-old insisted.
Further, Razzaq states the problem with the team today is that players are not being taken into confidence.
"The problem with Pakistan cricket today is that players are not being taken into confidence by the captain or management. There is too much shunting of players going on which is not good for Pakistan cricket. The truth is, since 2007 our standards have gone down while other countries are improving."
Commenting on captain Misbahul Haq, Razzaq said that although he was a good bet for Test cricket but he is not a limited overs player and needs to have more confidence in players.
"You will see players facing fitness issues when they are not mentally relaxed and this happens when the team management is not supportive enough," he said.
The dynamic all-rounder said even Pakistan's domestic cricket standard had gone down.
"We're still playing a lot of one-day cricket whereas in other countries the stress now is on first class and T20 cricket. The people responsible for running domestic cricket don't take it seriously themselves," said Razzaq.
RELATED POST: PCB announces final 15-man World Cup squad
Razzaq also clarified the World Cup squad was selected with consensus by chief selector Moin Khan, Younis and Misbah, so they were all responsible for the team’s performance.
Razzaq who has appeared in 46 Tests, 235 one-day Internationals and 32 T20 matches, said he had retired from four-day cricket not one-day or T20 cricket and was always ready to play for Pakistan.
The cricketer’s last Test appearance was in 2006 and his last ODI in 2011 but he was picked up for a T20 series against South Africa in 2013.
"Till Waqar is the coach I will never be considered for a comeback to the national team," Razzaq complained, according to NDTV.
Claiming the campaign was not only against him, Razzaq revealed the head coach quarreled with Shahid Afridi when he was the captain of one-day and T20 squads in 2011 and later submitted an adverse report about the skipper to the Pakistan Cricket Board that led to his ouster.
"For some reason since Waqar became head coach he had an agenda against us senior players including myself, Muhammad Yousuf and even Shahid Afridi," he added.
However, Razzaq did not only reserve his criticism for Younis and lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board for having no consistent policy for appointing key persons in the national team.
"Whether Waqar left midway through his contract in 2011 himself or was told to resign by the board, I don't understand how the cricket board reappointed him to the same position last year. That means either then or now the board made a wrong decision," the 35-year-old insisted.
Further, Razzaq states the problem with the team today is that players are not being taken into confidence.
"The problem with Pakistan cricket today is that players are not being taken into confidence by the captain or management. There is too much shunting of players going on which is not good for Pakistan cricket. The truth is, since 2007 our standards have gone down while other countries are improving."
Commenting on captain Misbahul Haq, Razzaq said that although he was a good bet for Test cricket but he is not a limited overs player and needs to have more confidence in players.
"You will see players facing fitness issues when they are not mentally relaxed and this happens when the team management is not supportive enough," he said.
The dynamic all-rounder said even Pakistan's domestic cricket standard had gone down.
"We're still playing a lot of one-day cricket whereas in other countries the stress now is on first class and T20 cricket. The people responsible for running domestic cricket don't take it seriously themselves," said Razzaq.
RELATED POST: PCB announces final 15-man World Cup squad
Razzaq also clarified the World Cup squad was selected with consensus by chief selector Moin Khan, Younis and Misbah, so they were all responsible for the team’s performance.
Razzaq who has appeared in 46 Tests, 235 one-day Internationals and 32 T20 matches, said he had retired from four-day cricket not one-day or T20 cricket and was always ready to play for Pakistan.
The cricketer’s last Test appearance was in 2006 and his last ODI in 2011 but he was picked up for a T20 series against South Africa in 2013.