COLOMBO – All-rounder Abdul Razzaq on Tuesday said he was ready to play his part for Pakistan at the World Cup after a quiet opening to the tournament in which he has performed a peripheral role. The 31-year-old veteran of 256 one-day internationals batted at number eight during Pakistan’s thumping 205-run triumph over Kenya and again in their 11-run win over co-hosts Sri Lanka.
“Definitely, when you get to bat your confidence goes high, but our batting line-up is very strong and I am not getting many chances but whenever I do I am ready to play my part,” said Razzaq. Razzaq faced just six balls during Pakistan’s 317-7 against Kenya, scoring an unbeaten eight, and played just four deliveries against Sri Lanka, scoring three. Sharing the new ball with Shoaib Akhtar, he bowled five overs in each game, failing to take a wicket.
Razzaq, who is playing his fourth World Cup and has 262 wickets in ODIs, said sub-continental pitches favour the batsmen. “If you look at other teams, number seven and eight batsmen are not getting many chances but that is part of the game because the pitches here are slow and help batting. “I am keeping myself ready in the nets so whenever the team needs me I will be playing my part and do my job of lifting the run rate,” said Razzaq, who hit a 72-ball 109 not out against South Africa in Abu Dhabi last year.
“It is my wish to bat up the order but that’s up to the team requirement, it’s team unity that everyone is doing what is needed, and the aim of every player is to perform when needed,” said Razzaq, who has 4,970 ODI runs. Razzaq said his role with the new ball was to keep things tight and support Akhtar. “My role with the new ball is to do five or six overs and take one or two wickets. If I do that it’s good for the team.
These are tough wickets for bowlers but I am fit and have experience of bowling on such tracks,” he said. Pakistan next play Canada in Colombo on Thursday. They top Group A with two wins out of two. Pitch conditions: The pitch at the R. Premadasa stadium has some grass and is likely to help seamers in the initial stages. It is not very good for strokeplay as the ball comes slightly late. It is likely to help spinners in the later stages.
Rival squads:
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shahzad.
Coach: Waqar Younis
Canada: Ashish Bagai (capt), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Nitish Kumar, Hiral Patel, Tyson Gordon, Henry Osinde, John Davison, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Parth Desai, Karl Whatham, Khurram Chohan, Jimmy Hansra, Zubin Surkari, Balaji Rao.
