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Abdul Razzaq or Azhar Mahmood: who was the better all-rounder?

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Pace90

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Yes, Anwar has long way to go before he could be compared to Razzaq, or Azhar. At the same time these two where no Imran or Kapil, but were quite a good all rounders and served Pakistan well. Who was the better one ? here is my take on them.

NATURAL TALENT: Razzaq had more, he was also bit taller, had very good high arm bowling action and a wonderful eye-hand coordination to hit the ball and more powerful hitter. An explosive batsman on his day.

PROFESSIONALISM AND HARD WORK: Mehmood was way ahead. Very hard working and used his brain a lot. Razzaq was always a lazy kind of cricketer, for me.

BATSMAN: Mehmood was a complete, classic batsman with good technique. Razzad was more explosive and either could block the ball or would hit for boundary, but hardly any classic shorts for one or two. Mehmood's 144 in SA was rated among the all time great test innings by Wisden, the best by any Pak batsman.

FORMAT MOST SUITED TO: Mehmood was good enough for test, ODI and 20/20. Razzaq was never a test material, was good for ODI and T20. Mehmood has been a great success in 20/20 the world over, not Razzaq.

Overall, I would prefer Mehmood over Razzaq fro my team, test, ODI and T20.
 
Razzaq is very underrated. He could win a game single-handedly on his day with either the ball (earlier on in his career) or the bat.
 
Razzaq easily. Azhar will always be remembered for playing the greatest counterattacking knock.
 
Razzak was more destructive of the two. Also His bowling was better.

Azhar was more of a batting all rounder.


Those two together at number 7 and 8 would have made Pakistan deadly
 
Razzak could win you a game on his own. At his peak, he could do it with bat or ball in his hand!!!! Cant say the same for azhar mehmood.

Razzak for me.
 
Would never trade Azhar for Razzaq in tests.

The guy has two great centuries against Donald and Pollock in SA, something the best of the game couldn't do.

In ODIs, its no competition, Razzaq wins easily.
 
I actually wouldn't play either in tests. Yes, Azhar had the odd good game or two however, neither of these players are test material and more often than not have failed to perform at that level.

In ODI's it is obviously Razzaq. I have never been a fan of Azhar Mahmood and a bar few decent performances I was never sold on the idea of him playing for our ODI side. I just don't think he was good enough. Razzlar on the other was a more consistent performer and much more reliable with the ball as well. Not to mention, on his day he could pulverize a bowling line-up and win you the game.

Razzaq's memorable performances include the 109 off of 72 balls against South Africa back in 2010 and that amazing bowling performance against Sri Lanka where he helped us draw the match.
 
Azhar was good during initial year but Razzaq definitely was a better player also Razzaq played better against us unlike Azhar who was not that great.
 
Azhar was unlucky actually.

He got those few hundreds at the start of his career, then the thinking process of management changed.

Whenever there was a difficult pitch to bat on, they would have send him to open or at number 3, exposed him to new ball, and he did nothing in that position. That destroyed all his confidence which has developed from the first few matches. And he never got enough chances, was dumped forever after that. In comparison, Razzaq I think played 50+ matches, still has worse stats than Azhar, that too boosted by his centuries against Bangladesh.

He could have been very fine player at number 6/7 but was wasted by us.

Thats why I am never in favor of playing a bowling allrounder higher in the batting order. We lost Azhar, India lost Pathan by doing so. Can't afford to do the same with Anwar.
 
Stallion__ said:
Azhar was unlucky actually.

He got those few hundreds at the start of his career, then the thinking process of management changed.

Whenever there was a difficult pitch to bat on, they would have send him to open or at number 3, exposed him to new ball, and he did nothing in that position. That destroyed all his confidence which has developed from the first few matches. And he never got enough chances, was dumped forever after that. In comparison, Razzaq I think played 50+ matches, still has worse stats than Azhar, that too boosted by his centuries against Bangladesh.

He could have been very fine player at number 6/7 but was wasted by us.

Thats why I am never in favor of playing a bowling allrounder higher in the batting order. We lost Azhar, India lost Pathan by doing so. Can't afford to do the same with Anwar.
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Under a better coach , a lot of pakistan players would have blossomed. Azhar was wasted by the management.
 
Razzaq was one of the top all rounders in world cricket at one point, however Razzaq was a lazy guy. Had he worked harder on his fitness and kept his bowling to better levels I think he could have played at least 2-3 years more.

Azhar not as naturally gifted but still a very good talent. I would pick Razzaq in the early years due to raw talent and Mahmood towards the end of both careers.
 
Azhar was very good against Pace bowling, but used to struggle a lot vs spinners which you have to mostly face in sub-continent!!

On topic Razzaq was better, during 1999-2002 he could get in to most team purely on the basis of his bowling
 
Both underperformed and went downhill after their first few years in intl cricket

You can make a case that azhar was hard done by, and was always dropped without being given consistent backing n confidence

Razzaq was the more talented but lazy cricketer

Razzaq overall performed better in odi intnl cricket and azhar was the better test all rounder
 
Razzaq was frustrating towards the end, his bowling lost that pace he once had and his batting would only come off once in a blue moon. His lazy attitude towards fielding was another negative. But he's one of the cleanest hitters of the ball we've ever had and a matchwinner on his day.

Azhar's case is interesting. He played brilliantly against a strong South African bowling lineup. Then he was promoted up the order and his batting slipped. Apparently he refused the captaincy in 2001 which he says may have hurt his career. The problem was around 1997-2001 we had so many different captains there was no stability whatsoever, so Azhar was favoured by one skipper and out of favour with another.

In Tests I'd give it to Azhar, in ODIs Razzaq.
 
I cant remember any azhar innings...its razzaq obviously. the way he shot sixes...my my myyy
 
Razzaq was explosive on his days, which would come once in a blue moon and a liability in field. Don't remember any other fast bowler in history who's pace went down after age 26' only Razzaq, the laziest cricketer in history, but no question, had he been more hard working or used his brain, he would have been one of the best all rounders in his era. Had tremendous talent for hitting sixes.
 
Razzaq was definitely the superior all rounder. Although I agree with the notion that Azhar was dealt with unfairly by management, Razzaq has much more to show at the end of the day. It's a shame that Razzaq did not fulfil his potential though. He was a 140kph bowler in his prime and if he had the work ethic, I firmly believe that he could have been an ATG all rounder. If he honed his batting skills even more whilst maintaining pacy fast bowling, he would have been a formidable cricketer.
 
That one match winning innings against RSA in UAE is even enough to give Razzaq an edge over Azhar!
 
Both were good but Abdul Razzaq was definitely better in all departments.
 
Razzler was hands down a better all rounder. Azhar have him beat in fielding though lol.
 
Putting there batting and bowling to one side for a moment Azhar from memory was a excellent slip catcher

Razzaq was one of those that made even the simplest of catches look awkward
 
In his early days, Razzaq was simply phenomenal.He was pacy and with his batting, he could play both the sheet anchor or the pinch hitter role.The only thing that Azhar had over Razzaq was work ethic.Razzaq could have been great but gave up on his fitness.That is why Azhar at almost 40 is still a valued free lance cricketer.
 
if azhar was born in an era where there was no ABdul Razzaq, like now for instance, he would have been a much better player. unfortunately never got as much game time as he should have. on a side note i saw the score card from that test in old trafford 2001. Razzaq opening the batting in both innings was quite a surprise
 
Razzaq was very popular with selectors also, in spite of his inconsistency . Some 6-7 years ago, Yasir Arafat had been performing greatly in domestic cricket and Razzaq was not and when selector was asked the reason for not selecting Yasir Arafat, his answer was he did not want to put Razzaq under any pressure, ( the way Sarafaraz has been put under by Rizwan )
 
How is this even a question??

Other than that 1 Test Series in South Africa- Azhar was to really a International caliber All-Rounder

Razzaq on the other hand was a destroyer of bowling attacks in his prime as a power hitter, and a fast/swing bowler in the first half of his career
 
In ODI's I would have picked both, none of them were consistent enough in test arena, however If I had to pick 1, I would go with Azhar, but in ODI's both were needed and we wasted Azhar. BTW Azhar is immensely underrated by ppers. Post 2003 wc, had we picked both, our lower order would have looked like:

6.Akmal
7.Razzaq
8.Afridi
9.Azhar
10. Umer gul/ Rana Naveed
11. Shoaib/Shabbir/Sami
 
Azhar Mahmood is a better fielder and more hard working but I probably would have to agree with most people that Abdul Razzaq is more likely to win a match. Could either of them ever represent Pakistan again?
 
hadi123 said:
Azhar Mahmood is a better fielder and more hard working but I probably would have to agree with most people that Abdul Razzaq is more likely to win a match. Could either of them ever represent Pakistan again?
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unfortunately their time has come and gone, but never say never, this is pakistan we are talking about after all.
 
was watching Caught Behind with these 2.

Interesting episode

Razzaq so bitter.

Says his pace dropped because the captains didnt give him confidence otherwise he claims he was ~145-150kph. Like what connection does that even have.

Also says that the 2010 innings against South Africa was the greatest innings in history of cricket. The board was conspiring to end his career but this happened. Saying he was getting no chances and was just given one game out of the blue so that he can be dropped as good. (this is blatant lie because he played the whole series and also the prior few series.)
 
Not playing the two together made Razzaq lazy and complacent.
 
Slog said:
was watching Caught Behind with these 2.

Interesting episode

Razzaq so bitter.

Says his pace dropped because the captains didnt give him confidence otherwise he claims he was ~145-150kph. Like what connection does that even have.

Also says that the 2010 innings against South Africa was the greatest innings in history of cricket. The board was conspiring to end his career but this happened. Saying he was getting no chances and was just given one game out of the blue so that he can be dropped as good. (this is blatant lie because he played the whole series and also the prior few series.)
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With this attitude, it's clear why his career went downhill in the mid 2000s.
 
Azhar was mediocre cricketer. A batting average of 18 and bowling average of 39?? Even Shastri is far better than this.

Razzaq in ODIs was world class level. Mahmood in any format and Razzaq in tests are examples of mediocrity.
 
Its a pathetic mentality Im sorry to say razzaq isnt the brightest out there or the most educated and it shows in the way he behaves on tv

Rather than taking ownership of your performances at the end of the career its easier to blame others

Its the same victim mentality with most of our players, that they were unjustly treated It was their position in the team and they were wrongly moved around the order and not backed etc etc

How can you gripe you werent backed when you played for 15 years and 100s or games for your country?

How can you blame others why your pace dropped from 90pmh to 75mph within a couple of years?

I believe he was pointing the finger at waqar that waqar wanted him out as cosch and thats why he lost pace and batting form

Thats why i feel not only is it important that pcb invests in talented cricketers but more important those that know how to conduct themselves on tv and in public and they can self analyse their performances with an objective eye rather than this poor mudslinging that most of our players do when they are droppped at the end of their careers
 
Razzaq definitely more talented but Azhar the more intelligent
 
Slog said:
was watching Caught Behind with these 2.

Interesting episode

Razzaq so bitter.

Says his pace dropped because the captains didnt give him confidence otherwise he claims he was ~145-150kph. Like what connection does that even have.

Also says that the 2010 innings against South Africa was the greatest innings in history of cricket. The board was conspiring to end his career but this happened. Saying he was getting no chances and was just given one game out of the blue so that he can be dropped as good. (this is blatant lie because he played the whole series and also the prior few series.)
Click to expand...

Do you think our players actually believe in their lies, it’s like they try and rewrite history and no one will notice. Brilliant player but off the field a vey bitter sad individual.
 
Razzaq by a country mile. Was very disappointed when his pace dropped but if used properly he gave us immense balance in both forms of the game. Very underrated test player too. I felt the post 2005 regime if the dentist and the general with their cockamamy idea to attaturkise pakistan cricket ensured razzq would be sidelined.

some of you above are talking about what his pace has to do with his confidence, well they can be linked. the amount of effort can be related to your mental health. In Pakistan we dont take things like this seriously but I believe our players have suffered from mental health problems due to the coacing, cuptaany and board.

The constant chopping and changing the weird selection policies etc. Now Razzaq cant blame everything on the admins. As a professional you should be able to handle this stuff but I do sympathise with him to an extent.

Who can forget how his introduction in the 2009 T20 WC gave us the balance and strength to win that comp..
 
the Great Khan said:
Razzaq by a country mile. Was very disappointed when his pace dropped but if used properly he gave us immense balance in both forms of the game. Very underrated test player too. I felt the post 2005 regime if the dentist and the general with their cockamamy idea to attaturkise pakistan cricket ensured razzq would be sidelined.

some of you above are talking about what his pace has to do with his confidence, well they can be linked. the amount of effort can be related to your mental health. In Pakistan we dont take things like this seriously but I believe our players have suffered from mental health problems due to the coacing, cuptaany and board.

The constant chopping and changing the weird selection policies etc. Now Razzaq cant blame everything on the admins. As a professional you should be able to handle this stuff but I do sympathise with him to an extent.

Who can forget how his introduction in the 2009 T20 WC gave us the balance and strength to win that comp..
Click to expand...

His role in the 2009 t20 WC was minimal tbh
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnThisDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnThisDay</a> in 2002. Abdul Razzaq with a vital score of 86 as Pakistan beat New Zealand by 3 wickets in Rawalpindi <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/T5HetXLVBu">pic.twitter.com/T5HetXLVBu</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1650416907877597185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Azhar had a relatively good batting technique but apart from his early exploits, he was mostly a mental weak batter and an innocuous seamer.

He did very good for Surrey and his military medium suited county very well and he did great there.

Razzaq was a guy who won Pakistan tons of matches. His bowling regressed quickly after 2003 but he was mentally strong player. Played a lot of knocks that a player with technique like his would only dream about both in ODIs and Tests.

It shouldn't be a comparison. Azhar likes to say he was technically more talented than Razzaq but the achievements of both are in front of everyone and Azhar used to be my favorite player in late 90s and early 2000s
 
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