Abdul Razzaq: “Other than Shahid Afridi, Pak does not have a proper impact player for the one-day format”

Razzaq, a veteran of 265 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) with 269 wickets and 5,080 runs to his credit, finds himself excluded from the 2015 World Cup squad and is currently plying his trade with Hem Heath Cricket Club in England.

By Amir Husain

With the return of Bilawal Bhatti from Australia, Pakistan’s 2015 World Cup squad does not have a pace bowling all-rounder. The mere thought of such a situation would have been akin to blasphemy in the days gone by when Pakistan was blessed with abundance of talent in this department, powered by the likes of Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, Azhar Mahmood and Abdul Razzaq.

Today, Razzaq, a veteran of 265 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) with 269 wickets and 5,080 runs to his credit, finds himself excluded from the 2015 World Cup squad and is currently plying his trade with Hem Heath Cricket Club in England.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, the 35- year old Razzaq spoke about the lack of quality Pakistani all-rounders, Pakistan’s preparations for the World Cup and his take on the team’s chance in the upcoming game against India as well as his views on how far Pakistan can go in the 2015 World Cup.

Not so long ago, it would have been impossible to envision a Pakistan team without a fast bowling all-rounder. In the current set-up, there have been many candidates like Hammad Azam, Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti, but to say that any one of these candidates could set the world of cricket on fire with their talent would be an exaggeration.

Razzaq is in no doubt that the blame lies squarely at the door of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) administration. He holds the PCB responsible for the lack of development of fresh talent, stating that “The PCB simply does not have the type of management skills at hand which are capable of producing and nurturing good players in general. Only when you have such qualified people at the PCB will you be able to produce the right type of talent. At the moment, if a player, regardless of whether he is an all-rounder or not, doesn’t perform well then he is thrown out of the team instead of being given an extended run in the team and building his confidence which is crucial.”

The veteran of a six World Cup appearances in the 50-over and T20 variety, Razzaq has a first-hand knowledge of the pressures and expectations associated with representing his country at such high profile tournaments. Whilst Pakistan achieved back-to-back victories in the two warm-up games against Bangladesh and England, the fact remains that Pakistan’s build-up to the 2015 World Cup has been far from satisfactory. But Abdul Razzaq believes that Pakistan players will need to forget the past and concentrate on achieving the best for their country. He explains: “I think it’s time for the players to forget everything and perform to the best of their abilities and not think of these games as if all they have to do is to show up. They have to play these games at the World Cup with real intent and represent the honour of the country. It is time for the players to use their talent and skills to the fullest as this mega event are the culmination of 3-4 years of their hard work. It’s time to show some positive results.”

The composition of the 15-member Pakistan World Cup squad has raised many an eyebrow with special attention being given to the surprise selections of the inexperienced Sohail Khan and Yasir Shah and very crucially that of Younis Khan whose record in ODIs has been far from satisfactory.

To Razzaq, the rationale behind the inclusion of such players is just another example of lack of requisite skills within the PCB’s management structure.

“In my view the squad for the World Cup should have been decided upon at least a year or more before the event. That squad of 15 should have been playing together before the start of the World Cup to allow them to develop together. Unfortunately, there aren’t many in the PCB who understands their roles, with the result that our cricket is being destroyed and no good players are being produced. It’s similar to a factory which is making a loss; it’s either the workers or the managers who are at fault. I don’t think the players are at fault; it’s the PCB management which is to blame. They need to bring in people who are professionals and understand the job better. Take the example of Younis Khan. He was dropped from ODIs then he performed well in Test matches and now he’s back in the ODI team. I fail to understand the logic behind Younis Khan’s selection. Look, there is no doubt that he is an excellent Test player, but now that he has been chosen for the World Cup, he should understand that he will be judged on his match-winning performances in this tournament and his previous experiences in such mega events will be of no consequence.”

In the eyes of many observers of Pakistan cricket, the Pakistan World Cup campaign will depend a lot on the experience and skills of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and veteran all-rounder Shahid Afidi, both of whom have announced their retirements from ODIs after the World Cup and could be under pressure to perform at such a high-profile stage. Abdul Razzaq does not feel that the two senior players will be under any such pressure to perform. Instead , he hopes that the emphasis will be on the other members of the team to break free from the shackles of expectations imposed by the team management and to play in the best interests of the team.

“Firstly, instead of making a big deal of this, let’s be clear that announcing one’s retirement before playing a tournament of this stature is probably done to remove the weight of expectations on these senior players. By doing that, they have nothing to lose if they don’t perform in the World Cup. Frankly speaking, I don’t really see any proper ODI player, apart from Shahid Afridi, who can make an impact in this line-up. The rest of the players seem more worried about wanting to keep the management and captain happy, rather than trying to perform well for the team. What they should be worrying about, for example when batting, is to be playing cuts and pull shots to raise the strike rate for the team but instead they are more worried about keeping the captain satisfied!”

With news that the opening clash of the World Cup for arch-rivals India and Pakistan is a sell-out months before the game itself, it would be fair to say that both teams have a lot riding on the outcome of this game. The winner of this game will surely take away momentum as the prize which could see them crowned as the World Champions on March 29, 2015. Add to that the fact that Pakistan would be desperate to reverse the trend of losing World Cup games to India, the pressure on Pakistani players would be immense.

Razzaq is no stranger to such tense encounters with India and feels that Pakistan will have to play with real intent to come out as victors. “The fact is that the teams will be playing at a neutral venue and in conditions which are alien to both sides, I would simply say that the team which can lift itself to perform better on that day will have the best chance to win this encounter. As a Pakistani, I hope and pray that Pakistan play their best game on that day and bring joy to their supporters. In terms of how Pakistan should approach this game, well as we all know the early loss of wickets will put pressure on any batting line up, but then some middle-order batsman can get stuck in and put on a 100-150 runs so just early wickets isn’t the only way forward. The fact is that each member of the team, whether he’s a bowler or a batsman, needs to do their job in that match. On top of that, only a positive and aggressive approach can help Pakistan beat India. I have no doubt that the Indian team on paper is better than Pakistan. In addition, the Pakistan team also has issues with fitness and really their chances of victory lie with someone performing outstandingly well on that day. The Indian team has a good combination in place and they have been playing well together but despite that, this will be a neutral venue so let’s see who can perform better on the 15th of February.”

The question on the mind of every Pakistan supporter from Gilgit to Karachi is very simply: How far can the 1992 World Cup winners can go in the 2015 edition? Being tantalisingly close to lifting the cup in 1999, Razzaq has first-hand experience of the effort and resolve that is required to succeed in a high profile tournament and offers these thoughts “It all depends on how Pakistan do in the first game against India and what momentum they can gain from that game. Having said that, one must also remember that it’s not the World Cup final. Even if they lose it’s not the end of the tournament for them. The players need to play all their games at the highest intensity possible and with that kind of attitude, a semi-final berth or even a place in the final is not beyond their reach,” he concludes.

(Amir Husain is Senior Editor at PakPassion.net. The above article is reproduced with permission from pakpassion.net)