Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who retired from international cricket in 2013, has been known lately for making pretty controversial comments. He had earlier called Jasprit Bumrah a ‘baby bowler’, claiming that he is nowhere close to Shaheen Afridi. He had also commented that Hardik Pandya was nowhere close to Kapil Dev in terms of being an all-rounder. However, the ex-PAK cricketer has made a complete U-turn regarding his earlier statements on Pandya in a recent interview.
In an interview with news agency PTI in 2020, Razzaq had said that Pandya was nowhere close to the leagues of Kapl Dev and Imran Khan. “Kapil Dev and Imran Khan are the best all-rounders of all time. Hardik is nowhere near that league. Even I was an all-rounder but it doesn’t mean that I would compare myself with Imran bhai,” he had said.
This statement caused a lot of controversy, and now 3 years later, in an interview with The Times of India, Abdul Razzaq has retracted his earlier comments on Pandya. He said that his earlier comments were taken in the wrong way.
My earlier statement on Hardik Pandya was taken the wrong way. I didn’t mean it. As a cricketer, I just said there is scope for improvement in him (Pandya). I didn’t comment on a player who is from India, England, or Australia. I just said things as a cricketer. If Kapil Dev says that he wants to give advice to Abdul Razzaq, I will take this statement positively,” Razzaq said in the interview.
Abdul Razzaq also said that Hardik Pandya is both physically and mentally extremely fit.
“The best part about Hardik is that he is very strong both mentally and physically. He is fit. This drives him forward. He hits the ball cleanly. He takes wickets at crucial junctures. You send him in to bowl, he will take wickets. You send him out to bat and he will score runs for you. He is a match-winner. No one is perfect,” the former PAK all-rounder said.
Abdul Razzaq also said that even though Pandya is a complete all-rounder he needs to work on a few things.
“He can work on a couple of things which according to him are areas of improvement – in terms of foot movement, bat movement, and how to judge a delivery before it is bowled. That was what I meant earlier. That was just a statement as a former all-rounder. People took it the wrong way and criticised me as well,” Razzaq said.
“Hardik is a complete allrounder. But no one is perfect. Everyone needs improvement in certain areas. When I was playing, I also lacked certain things. Wasim Akram was the same, Imran Khan was the same, Kapil Dev was the same. But still, we consider them all to be greats of the game,” the former all-rounder added.
