Why Waste our Best Allrounder?

He is a much more accomplished batsman than the stylish Shahid Afridi. And he has been a much better bowler than him. But still he has been thrown out of the team more than once. And Afridi—an average allrounder at best—continues to play.


In my opinion, Abdul Razzaq has been the best one-day all rounder Pakistan has ever had. He averages close to 30 with the bat and the number of his bowling’s victims has always been higher than the number of matches he has played. Afridi averages near 24—six runs less than Abdul’s which is quite a big difference—and his wickets tally has only recently exceeded the number of matches he has played.


The then coach Waqar Younis played the most important role in ousting this talented guy from the team. He kept trying to throw him out of the team before the last year’s World Cup, but Abdul Razzaq performed so well repeatedly that he failed in his intentions.


At the Oval against England in 2010, he first made 31 off just 24 balls and then took two wickets to help Pakistan win by 23 runs. At Lord’s, he made 44 off just 20 balls near the end of Pakistan’s innings to give Pakistan a much higher total than was anticipated. Pakistan won by 38 runs.


Then, against South Africa in UAE, he played the best one-day international innings the world has ever seen. He made 109 off just 71 balls, scoring 63 of the last 65 runs required. The performance forced even Waqar to stand up and applaud him.


Then in the Christchurch T20 against New Zealand, he scored 34 runs off 11 balls and took three wickets to guide Pakistan to a 103 runs victory.


But after the World Cup, Waqar Younis succeeded in his efforts although the allrounder’s performance was not unimpressive. He was asked to bowl less than 40 overs, but still he managed to take six wickets, including two at a crucial stage in the match against the Australians. He was sent to bat at number eight although his batting credentials warranted a much higher position. Even at that position he delivered. He made a half century against New Zealand when everybody else had failed. He also scored 20 not out to help Pakistan defeat Australia after the top order had fallen.


His services were grossly underutilized in that tournament, but Waqar finally managed to throw him out. He was not considered for the tour to West Indies.


He was brought back for the one-day series against Sri Lanka a few months back, but again ousted despite giving decent performances.


Two questions must be asked of the selectors: is he old enough to be discarded? Has his performance been so lowly as to have necessitated his removal? There is one answer to both questions. A big no.


He is only 31. He can play for a long time to come. And his performance has not been bad. The selectors have acted foolishly by dropping a well performing allrounder. His presence bolsters Pakistan’s batting and increases bowling options.


It is true that he is now not as fast with the ball as he used to be. But that is no issue because his medium gentle medium pacers are enough for one-day cricket. He has been taking wickets even with a reduced speed.
 

His batting potential has not been fully realized. He should be given chances to bat up the order. Number eight is not the position where a batsman with an average of 30 should bat.


It is time the selectors included this hugely talented allrounder in the team for one-day and T20 matches. If he chooses to settle in a foreign country, as have done many other Pakistani cricketers, the loss will be Pakistan’s.