OTD | Pakistan dependable all-rounder Abdul Razzaq was born in 1979

Former Pakistan cricketer Abdul Razzaq is celebrating his 44th birthday today. Razzaq was a mainstay in the Pakistan team for a long period where he contributed with both his batting and bowling. As an all-rounder, he provided a lot of balance to the squad and Pakistan has not found his proper replacement since he departed from the scene which shows the significance of Razzaq. 

The Beginning

Abdul Razzaq made his international debut in a one-day game against Zimbabwe in 1996 at Lahore. He made his test debut three years later in 1999 at Brisbane against the mighty Aussies. He soon became a regular in both formats because of his consistent performances. His potential came to the fore more with his bowling, but his batting in the lower middle order was also very crucial to the side. 

Abdul Razzaq made his debut in the shortest format in 2006 against England at Bristol. He became a T20 World champion for Pakistan in 2009 and that remains one of the highlights of his career. 

The Overview

Abdul Razzaq’s career lasted almost 15 years in which he played for Pakistan in all formats of the game. Razzaq represented Pakistan in 46 test matches where he picked up 100 wickets at an average of 36.94. He also scored 1946 runs with the bat at an average of 28.61. 

His exploits in white ball cricket were much more impressive. In 265 One-Day internationals, he took 269 wickets at an average of 31.83 which is impressive for an all-rounder. He scored more than 5000 runs in ODI cricket which puts him in an elite category of players who had more than 250 wickets and 5000 runs in their ODI career. 

Abdul Razzaq also played 32 T20 internationals, scoring 393 runs along with 20 wickets in his account. Razzaq would be remembered as one of the best all-rounders in recent history who was a main factor behind his team’s success.