The all-round arsenal is back in form

The best news for Pakistan this week has been Abdur Razzaq’s return to fitness and form. The all-rounder’s availability for the Te...

The best news for Pakistan this week has been Abdur Razzaq’s return to fitness and form. The all-rounder’s availability for the Test series against India had been a matter of speculation for the entire month after he was diagnosed with a typhoid. After being under medication that kept him away from the game for some time, Razzaq is now ‘‘relieved’’ to join his teammates in their preparation for the series.

‘‘It would have been a huge disappointment had I missed out on this one,’’ he says — terming the India-Pak encounters as something that no cricketer would like to miss. His own gut feeling was he would definitely be fit in time, but what kept worrying him throughout the illness was that he ‘‘wasn’t a part of the team’s gameplan’’ till the moment he was given the final go ahead by the team’s medical panel.

Pakistan’s chairman of selectors Wasim Bari has been closely following Razzaq at daily net sessions at the Gaddaffi Stadium in Lahore. ‘‘He can be a vital component with his abilities. You may count him as one of the best all-rounders today. Missing out on Razzaq would have been disappointing,’’ says Bari.

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Selectors say Razzaq’s potential can be used in curbing the dominance of Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh with the old ball. ‘‘He has the ability to hit the ball well with as much keenness to stay at the wicket,’’ says Bari.

Razzaq himself has been finding his rhythm and the comfort level is rising by the day, as Pakistan continue with their daily quota of strenuous practice sessions.

‘I’m back to putting the ball in the right places, so that isn’t bothering me. I expect myself to be concentrating a little more on my batting,’’ he says.

Razzaq feels the team expects him to perform with bat and ball and he is eager to help. At the nets Sunday he faced the pace battery of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Rana Naved-ul Hasan for a little over half-an-hour. Shahid Afridi was at the other end. Both batsmen, looked devastating, hitting to all corners of the park.

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Razzaq is convinced the Pakistan team is ‘‘better prepared’’ this time around to tackle the Indians. He may not like to talk about what happened here in 2004, but the hard work being put in by his team is enough to suggest that Pakistan is in no mood to let the Indians find anything easy this time. What keeps him “positive” is is the way he batted during Pak’s tour of India.

Bari believes while cricket is a team game, every individual should understand what the team expects of him. In Razzaq’s case, Bari is convinced that the all-rounder has shown ‘‘great temperament’’ against India in recent past and that he would be ‘‘an asset’’.