| I personally belong to the Azhar Mahmood camp and sometimes blame Razzak for Azhar not getting enough opportunities. However, I do see Razzak as a valuable member of the team.
Without going into statistics or his technical strengths/weaknesses, Razzak to me, comes across as a player who can deliver what is required of him, if he is clear about what is required of him, that is. His numerous ODI batting performances, the innings in Mohali, or his good bowling performances whenever the lead bowlers like Akhtar are not playing show that he can deliver.
However, sometimes he appears completely confused and that’s when I feel that he is not sure about what he is required to do. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, it could just mean that he is not a potential leader and we don’t really need 11 potential leaders in a team.
I also have absolutely no doubt that he is a complete team player (and we do need as many of those type as we can) but his body language sometimes tells a different story. While bowling, I can’t help feeling that he is not exerting himself enough, that he can actually bowl faster or put more effort but doesn’t want to, just so that he doesn’t end up hurting himself or something. Every time he comes to bowl, I get this image of a young skinny bowler (I think it was Mohd. Akram) who had a very deceptive and slow run up but when he bowled, it was fast! Evertime Razzak comes to bowl, I hope that’s what he will do as he certainly looks capable of doing that, but it doesn’t happen.
While batting, he appears so disengaged from it all, it feels akward. Ditto while running between the wickets. However, these could just be how he plays or my biased opinion. |