Abdul Razzaq (Punjabi, ; born 2 December 1979) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer, who played all formats of the game. Known as a gifted all-rounder, he was a right-arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman. He emerged in international cricket in 1996 with his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at his home ground in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; just one month before his seventeenth birthday. He was part of the Pakistan Cricket squad that won the ICC World Twenty20 2009. He was a part of the Pakistan squad which finished as runners-up at the 1999 Cricket World Cup. He played 265 ODIs and 46 Tests.
In 2018, at the age of 38, Abdul Razzaq announced that he would make a comeback at the domestic circuit level to play first-class cricket again after having short stints as a coach for few domestic teams in Pakistan since his international retirement in 2013.
Early and personal life Abdul Razzaq was born in Shahdara Bagh, a suburb on the outskirts of Lahore, Punjab, known for its Mughal architecture.
His son Ali Razzaq is also a cricketer.
Cricket career
Youth career Inspired by Wasim Akram to take up fast bowling, Razzaq's breakthrough came on Pakistan Under-19s’ 1996 tour of the West Indies, where he took 17 wickets and contributed with the bat, cementing his rise to Pakistan's senior side.
International career
Early career Abdul Razzaq made his One Day International debut in November 1996, against Zimbabwe, but had to wait just over three years to make his Test cricket debut for Pakistan, eventually doing so against Australia in Brisbane in November 1999. In the 1999–2000 Carlton and United Series, he rose to fame and was named man of the series for his all round performance. During a match in Hobart against India, Abdul Razzaq scored a half century and took five wickets. In the same tournament, he hit former Australian fast bowler, Glenn McGrath for 5 fours, which totalled to 20 runs in one over. In total, during the tournament, he scored 225 runs at 37.5 with a top score of 70 not out, and got 14 wickets at 20.78 with a best return of 5-48.
Abdul Razzaq also performed well with the ball, his most noticeable stint was in the Coca-Cola Champions Trophy 1999 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, October 1999. Pakistan were bowled out for 196, with Abdul Razzaq remaining not out on 7. However, Abdul Razzaq proved to be more than capable with his all round skills as he took his first five-wicket haul, dismissing Romesh Kaluwitharana, Mahela Jayawardene, Suresh Perera, Chaminda Vaas and Chamara Silva to finish with match figures of 5/31, meaning that Sri Lanka were also bowled out for 196 resulting in a tied match, having once been at 157/2. Former captain Wasim Akram praised Abdul Razzaq's ability with the ball, citing that he was emerging to be one of the best all rounders in the world. Abdul Razzaq's astonishing nine-ball spell, which he took four for nought helped snatch a tie from what seemed a certain Sri Lankan victory, finishing as the man of the match for his performance.
1999 Cricket World Cup Abdul Razzaq became a regular member of his national side during the 1999 world cup held in England. During the event, he got the attention of selectors as he performed well both with the ball and bat. His brilliant performance with the bat came in the group match against Australia, where he went on to score his first half century making 60 runs in a long and stable partnership with Inzamam-ul-Haq, which helped Pakistan reach a defendable target of 275. Pakistan went on to win the match by ten runs and as a result qualified for the Super Six stage. With the ball, he made a brilliant performance against the tough West Indies national cricket team by taking three wickets for 32 runs having three maiden overs, which proved decisive for Pakistan at Bristol.
2000 Carlton and United Series Abdul Razzaq's other impressive performances came during the Carlton & United Series at Australia in a tri-nation tournament involving Pakistan, Australia and India in 2000. Abdul Razzaq achieved the man of the series award for his best all round performances, especially in a pre-finals match against India, where he scored 70 not out with the bat and took 5 wickets for 48 runs, thus becoming the fifth all-rounder to have scored a half century and take five wickets in an ODI; the other four players being Vivian Richards, Kris Srikkanth, Mark Waugh, and Lance Klusener. Shahid Afridi subsequently achieved the feat thrice for Pakistan.
In the first match of the series against Australia, he took 4 wickets and played an important role for Pakistan helping them to successfully defend a very low target of 184 runs at Brisbane. In the third match of the series, Abdul Razzaq came into prominence after hitting five consecutive boundaries in the fifth over of Australian pacer Glenn McGrath. Eventually Pakistan was defeated in the finals by Australia but Abdul Razzaq was named player of the series for his all-round performance.
Prominence In 2000, Abdul Razzaq became the youngest cricketer in the world to take a Test cricket hat-trick in a match against Sri Lanka. He has scored three centuries and twenty two fifties in One Day International matches. His highest score was 112 runs, against South Africa in 2002, where he shared a partnership of 257 runs with Pakistani batsman Saleem Elahi. His second century was scoring 107 runs not out in a match against Zimbabwe in 2004. During this match, he saved Pakistan from a disastrous start and eventually won them the match. His first fifty came in 90 deliveries, before accelerating in the second fifty runs, which was scored in just 21 balls.
On 29 November 2003 at Lahore, Abdul Razzaq sealed a high-scoring chase against New Zealand with a blistering 47 off 22 balls*, taking Pakistan 292/7 past 291/5 with two overs to spare and securing a three-wicket win in the first ODI of the series. During the fifth and last ODI match of the tour, he scored 89 runs from 40 balls, prompting New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming to call him the "best hitter" in the world.Best hitter I've seen, says Fleming. Dawn. Retrieved on 4 January 2008.
In March 2004, during the 3rd ODI of the Indian tour of Pakistan, Abdul Razzaq hit an unbeaten 53 at a strike-rate of 101 and guided Pakistan past India's 244/9 with 16 balls to spare; in the first innings he had also taken 2 wickets.
In January 2005, he was involved in the ACC Asian XI that took on the ICC World XI in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal charity match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
As a fast bowler, Abdul Razzaq experienced a steady decline in speed and performance during the 2003 cricket World Cup and 2004. Abdul Razzaq dropped Tendulkar who later on scored a match-winning 98 (75). During this period, he remained as a supporting bowler. However, from 2005 to the end of 2006, he regained his speed and he won many matches for Pakistan with his bowling. His best bowling figures in a One Day International match is 6 wickets for 35 runs. His another notable performance was against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1999, where Pakistan was all out for 196 runs and he took 5 wickets for 31 runs to draw the match.
Abdul Razzaq's place in the Pakistan national team has been marred by injuries and absences. In 2005 it was revealed that he was suffering from eating too much spinach, which was causing him to suffer from nausea and sickness while playing. This led to him being known as 'Popeye' by his teammates.
During the 2005–2006 Test match series in India, Abdul Razzaq took 9 wickets and scored 205 runs in two Test matches he played, which resulted in an improvement of his performance. A highlighted performance was during the 1st Test in Mohali, where in tandem with Kamran Akmal, mounted a lower-order rearguard that thwarted India in the opening Test, with Akmal's maiden hundred and Razzaq's adhesive support steering Pakistan away from defeat. Abdul Razzaq had hit 46 runs off 183 deliveries translating to scoring rate of 1.5 runs per over, with 153 dot balls. His batting remained generally consistent from 2000 to 2006, although his place on the Test team was never secure.
During the Indian tour of Pakistan in 2005–06, Abdul Razzaq delivered an all-round performance in the 3rd Test: with the bat he turbo-charged Pakistan's declaration, adding a violent 90 in the morning session (after 45 in the first innings for 135 in the match): he flogged Rudra Pratap Singh and Irfan Pathan for sixes, and even launched Anil Kumble over long-on before finally holing out. With the ball he had already taken three wickets in India's first innings, and in the final session he broke the chase open again, seaming one back to pin Sourav Ganguly, then bouncing out MS Dhoni (driving) and Irfan Pathan (fending to gully). Razzaq completed the job by nicking off Yuvraj Singh, who alone resisted with a high-class century, capping a dominant, match-defining display. He finished the Test series with the most wickets for Pakistan, with 9 of them.
In February 2006, Abdul Razzaq became only the 5th player to achieve the double of 4000 runs and 200 wickets in ODIs.
In 2007, a poor performance in a series with both the bat and ball, in a match against South Africa, accompanied with an injury that forced him out of the 2007 cricket World Cup, had him dropped from the 2007 World Twenty20, a decision that received widespread criticism from cricket individuals.
Temporary retirement in 2007 On 20 August 2007, Abdul Razzaq announced his retirement against his omission from the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 squad.Abdul Razzaq quits international cricket. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved on 4 January 2008. However, on 27 October 2007, Abdul Razzaq revoked his decision following discussions with his local cricket club and coach, saying, "Maybe I made that (decision to retire) in the heat of the moment."Razzaq takes back retirement decision. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved on 4 January 2008.
He signed up for the Indian Cricket League and played for the Hyderabad Heroes as one of their star players. He eventually severed ties with the league in September 2008 and returned to international cricket in June 2009, helping Pakistan win the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup.
Return in team: 2009 World Twenty20 Championship In 2009, he was selected into Pakistan's squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England as a replacement for injured fast bowler Yasir Arafat, marking his return to International cricket and becoming the first Indian Cricket League player, whose ban was lifted by the Pakistan Cricket Board. He played an important role in Pakistan's victory in the tournament, taking 5 wickets at an average of 14.80 and an economy rate of 5.92. His figures of 3 wickets for 20 runs, played a significant role in Pakistan's victory against Sri Lanka in the final. As a result, he along with another former Indian Cricket League player Mohammad Yousuf were awarded 'A' category mid-term central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
In the 2009–2010 season, Abdul Razzaq missed out on the tours of New Zealand and Australia, due to injury. However he was selected in the two match Twenty20 International series against England in February 2010. His innings of 46 runs not out from 18 deliveries in the second match of the series, cemented Pakistan a victory, their first in eleven international outings.
On 30 December when playing in a game for the Melbourne Renegades, former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh described Abdul Razzaq as a "cardboard cut out" based on his appeared disinterest when playing.
ODI return: against New Zealand