Is Razzak losing his shine?

Mushfiqur Rahim leaves the Hazrat Shah Amanat International Airport

While Bangladesh’s main strength is considered to be their spin attack, one of their best bet Abdur Razzak’s performance against West Indies had raised a few eyebrows whether he is becoming too predictable.

Razzak went wicketless in the first two matches that the tourists won to clinch the three-match one-day series.

Razzak, being the highest wicket-taker for Bangladesh in one-day internationals, has failed to fulfil the expectation against the West Indies and as a result the overall performance of the team has also suffered.

The West Indian batsmen never looked to be in any sort of discomfort against the veteran spinner, who took 175 wickets in 126 matches.  

His performances in the last two series against Australia, Zimbabwe and in the two matches against West Indies suggest that time has come to make an evaluation as he took six wickets in the last nine one-day internationals.

In Bangladesh’s previous home series against Zimbabwe, Razzak equalled the world record with his feat of three successive four-wicket hauls that included a hat-trick in as many games.

But surprisingly against the same side in their own territory he picked up just two wickets in four matches and one of them was of a tail-ender in the final ball of the 50th over.

Bangladesh were even forced to drop Razzak for a game, a move which was previously unthinkable.

Bringing a crucial breakthrough at the initial stage was a trademark of him but that seems to be a distant past and it only indicates that he is becoming too predictable.

‘It looks like he is becoming too predictable,’ said Sarwar Imran, coach of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, told New Age.

‘At least that’s what it seemed to me after watching him in the two one-day against the West Indies,’ said Imran.  ‘I think he did not bowl in the right line and length,’ he added.

‘He bowled a lot on the leg-stump and he needs to minimise that,’ he added.

‘The balls that he bowled on the off-stump troubled them and he must continue to do that more often,’ said Imran.  Wahidul Gani, the veteran spinner of Bangladesh and spin bowling coach of the GP-BCB Academy, also echoed the same thought as his colleague about Razzak.

‘I think the batsmen are easily reading him these days,’ said Wahidul.

‘He was not a great turner throughout his career and his main weapon was his arm-ball but nowadays that doesn’t seem to do the trick.

‘Usually batsmen are playing him in the on-side which only suggests that they are now comfortable. It looks that they had made a good homework,’ he added.

‘I think now he needs to bring more variety in his bowling,’ said Wahidul.

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