Abdul Razzaq

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Also in 2003–2004, he scored 89 runs from 40 balls against New Zealand, whose captain Stephen Fleming called him the "best hitter" in the world.

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.

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.

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.

However, from 2005 to the end of 2006, he regained his speed and he won many matches for Pakistan with his bowling.

He was part of the Pakistan Cricket squad that won the ICC World Twenty20 2009.

He played 265 ODIs and 46 Tests.

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.

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.