‘I never gave up’ - Razzak
Bangladesh left arm-spinner Abdur Razzak has been recalled to the squad ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka. He has recently joined the 500-wicket club in first-class cricket and became the first Bangladeshi cricketer to have achieved the feat.
The spinner played only 12 Tests for the national side. However, he was the first bowler to scalp 200 ODI wickets before Shakib Al Hasan and Mashrafe Mortaza reached that landmark.
After a disappointing final match in the tri-nation series, the Bangladesh Test team, currently being led by Mahmudullah Riyad, will play in a 2 Test-series against Sri Lanka.
Regarding Razzak’s inclusion in the squad, the chief selector Minhajul Abedin Nannu said, “If he was not in our minds then, of course, he wouldn't be in today's practice session at Chittagong. So one cannot say that the decision was taken suddenly.”
Abdur Razzak was surprised following his addition to the squad. The 35-year-old has been performing well in the domestic circuit for the last few years. He leads this season's wicket-takers' list with 40 scalps in nine matches, combined in BCL and NCL.
“There are times you hope for something like this to happen, this wasn’t one of those times. Yes, there is an obvious matter of feeling good. But I was very surprised.
"It is hard to play domestic cricket if you don't have a larger goal so I never really gave up hope. But I didn't expect it now, not like this," Razzak told the reporters on Monday.
"Sajib bhai [Kawsar Azam], who called to tell me my ticket is confirmed, first congratulated me. I asked him if it is for the 500 wickets. He said that it was because of my Bangladesh team call-up. I got a call from Nannu bhai [Minhajul Abedin] who confirmed to me,” he added.
The last time Abdur Razzak played for the Tigers in a Test match, the likes of Australia, England, and Sri Lanka were still invincible to Bangladesh. Since then, the team has gone through a lot of changes.
Razzak said, "I think this should set an example for everyone to never give up. Even young players think that they will not get selected, but one should always keep in mind that if you are performing consistently, you will be needed at some stage.
"Waiting for the opportunity is tough. I think 95 percent of the people thought that I would never make it back. But in the back of my mind, I always thought that I would get the call."
Mahmudullah got the captaincy of the Test team as the recently appointed captain – Shakib Al Hasan is going through a finger injury.
“Shakib is the best player, not just in our team (but) he is also the best all-rounder in the world. It's difficult to replace him because you need to pick a bowler and batsman in his place and still there is no guarantee that they will perform equally good,” said Razzak.
“I will try to play my normal game without trying anything extraordinary,” Razzak stated regarding his plans ahead of the clash.
