Hasan Raza: Pakistan's other forgotten son?

[Shaka]

There's always one or two batsmen who you can never quite work out what they did wrong to get discarded. I did a thread about Mohammed Wasim a while back, and Raza's another one. Given his debut at a stupid age (15 or something) he was discarded after a few games because it was felt he didn't play the short ball too well, or that he didn't have enough shots, I'm not sure which one.

Then in the Pak v Aus series held in Sharjah he was recalled on account of the inexperienced Pakistan team's lack of ability to handle Shane Warne. He played Waren very well and had a decent test match scoring 50's in each innings. Then that's it. never been heard of again. Raza struck me as another of the rare breed of Pakistani batsmen who knows how to build an innings. Do we give overlook these guys in favour of flashy strokemakers who spank a couple of lovely 4's then promptly get out?

[Maranello]

The number of decent Pakistani crickters who are given a debut at an obscenely young age, and discarded after a few games never to be heard of again is quite high. There is Hasan Raza, Wasim, Basit Ali, and many others from the recent past, all who came, impressed with their initial results, and were dumped soon thereafter!

[Shaka]

Basit Ali made his mark and would have stayed in the team except from all reports he was a trouble maker. I think he got involved with a lot of politics and was kept out of things for reasons other than cricket. Would love to know the reasons Raza is over-looked though, I see he's still making runs at domestic level along with Taufeeq Umar. do you think they're trying to rub the selector's noses in it?

[Maranello]

He is making runs domestically, but then so are many others, Hasan is not the most prolific or even the most consistent batsmen in our domestic system; that's ok, since success in Pakistan's domestic system has historically had no correlation with being a good cricketer! People who do excellently domestically, eg Mansoor Akhtar, Shafeee Ahmed Papa, Wajahutllah Wasti, and recently Saeed bin Nasir, Fazle Akbar, Naved-ul-Hasan, and break all sorts of records at home, seldom end up being Test-level players. Its the others, who do reasonably well domestically but who have the potential to do much much more, eg Saeed Anwar, Amir Sohail, Inzamam, Youhana, et al who shine at the international level. I would place Hasan Raza in this latter category too.

[Shaka]

The thing about Raza is that he did actually produce a couple of high quality innings against the Aussies in test matches. When you think how few of our recent batsmen can boast that, it's strange that he has never been considered again, despite doing so well. You mention Wasti there, he's another who i don't think was given a fair crack of the whip. Imran really rated him after a few very good knocks as an opener during the 99 World Cup, yet he was dropped soon after, probably because he failed in the final. Well if failing against the Aussie attack in one match spells the end of a career we'll need 6 new batsmen by Feb!!

[Maranello]

Yes if success against Australia is the criteria, then Youhana should be sent back to club cricket!

It seems that we judge the youngsters on totally different criteria from the experienced players. It is alright for Youhana to fail in the important Tests, and he will remain our "premier batsman"; however, a youngster like Hasan Raza or Asim Kamal or Yasir Hameed has to perform from the first Test, otherwise he will be out! Terrible selection policy and a terrible way to nurture and develop new players.

[Shaka]

I just checked Raza's recent test history and it reads:

V Aus

54 n.o. & 68

v Zimbabwe

46, & 11
4

Those are his last 5 innings before being dropped. he averaged 122 in the one test he played against Australia who had Gillespie, McGrath and Warne in the team yet he was discarded two matches later. Unbelievable!

[Maranello]

Yes, and that was the Test when everyone else in the Pakistani batting line-up was falling like nine-pins, and Raza held everything together at the age of 19 or whatever! He was the highest scorer in each innings - remarkable!

His cricinfo profile reads:

Originally Posted by Wisden cricinfo

Hasan Raza is one of the many Pakistanis given an early exposure to international cricket, although even by those standards his Test debut at the age of 14 years and 227 days was exceptional (doubts about his birthdate and medical tests later resulted in the PCB withdrawing the record claim – his actual age was uncertain, but was around 15 at the time of debut). He performed admirably, but was soon discarded and left in the wilderness, although he continued to perform well at domestic and A-team level. He was recalled against Australia at Sharjah in 2002-03, scoring 54* and 68, but both innings were slow. Two more Tests against Zimbabwe followed before he was again replaced. He is a wonderful timer of the ball and a treat to watch, but has been unable to reproduce his fluency or strokeplay on the international stage.

Martin Williamson October 2004

I actually disagree with the last comment: "has been unable to reproduce his fluency or strokeplay on the international stage" - he has not been given a chance! And when given a try, he did more than most others could have.

[Maranello]

(Provided by Shaka)

Steve Waugh said after the 2001 Test series: "Hasan is the most talented player amongst all youngsters in Pakistan. He is the one who deserves our respect"

Originally Posted by the Channel 4 site

The only bright spot for Pakistan appeared to be 20-year-old Hasan Raza, who in 1996 became his country's youngest Test player at the age of just 14.

It would then take two years for him to play his second Test and is now contesting only his third. But his more experienced team-mates could learn a lot from his technique and temperament, as he has recorded unbeaten half centuries in both innings.

Raza's second coming
By Shahid A. Hashmi (2001/02)
Special correspondent

Hasan Raza is just 20 years old now, but when he made his debut in Faisalabad in 1996-7 he was only 14 - the youngest Test player ever.

Now he is back in the side, and was the one shining light for the Pakistani batsmen in the final Test in Sharjah. He topscored in both innings, hitting a composed 54 not out in the first innings and by Monday night he was unbeaten on 56 after Pakistan had followed on.

The unassuming lad from Karachi had exactly the sort of successful comeback he was seeking, having had only two Test innings prior to the match. When he made his Test debut, many believed he would serve Pakistan for a long time.

"It was like a dream come true, playing for Pakistan at an age when others merely dream of it," Raza told BBC Sport Online.

Back then, on a traditionally slow Faisalabad track, Raza impressed with his technique by making 27 in the only innings in which he was required to bat. However, he subsequently lost his way like many other youngsters in Pakistan cricket.

"Raza may not show his disappointment but being close to him I know how deprived he feels after losing his place," says his elder brother Mumtaz. A successful tour to Australia with the Pakistan under-19 side where he scored three hundreds brought him back into the reckoning.

His second chance in Test came against the same opponents he made his debut against, Zimbabwe, in Lahore in the 1998-99 series which Pakistan lost 1-0. Raza made just three, dismissed by the leg-spinner Adam Huckle.

In between he had played 16 one-dayers for Pakistan with modest success, scoring 242 runs with a highest score of 77, but off the field activities halted his career.

Raza, together with childhood friend Shahid Afridi and Atiquz Zaman, invited female guests to their hotel rooms during the 2000 Singapore Challenge tournament. The trio were suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board for ICC Trophy in Kenya 2000 and fined 50,000 rupees each.

Dropped down to the Pakistan A side, Raza captained the team to a series win in Sri Lanka last year. He was the top-scorer in the three unofficial Tests, making centuries in Dambulla and Galle. But despite this and the 670 runs he made in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy the selectors continued to overlook him for the full Pakistan side.

He was eventually recalled only after a media campaign and more impressive form during the home series against Sri Lanka A last month. Raza scored a match-winning hundred in the first match at Faisalabad and was duly drafted back into the senior team for the matches against Australia.

"When I look back I feel dejected that I have lost some crucial years but I am confident that I have the capacity to make amends, I will," he says. "I want to play for a long time, like Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas."

[Zainub]

I wish I knew the answer to that question, he really has been treated very unfairly by the selectors. Hopefully he'll be back some time soon.