All hell breaks loose when the comparison between Indian and Pakistani players starts. Now, ex-PAK cricketers have conceded that Abdul Razzaq was a better all-rounder than Hardik Pandya. Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Hafeez believe that the difference between Pandya and Razzaq was the confidence given by the team managements.
Hardik Pandya vs Abdul Razzaq
“Hardik Pandya koi Malcolm Marshall ya Waqar Younis nahi hai,”Akhtar said on ‘Game on Hai’, as quoted by Hindustan Times. “Javagal Srinath ya Brett Lee nahi hai. (Hardik is no Marshall, Waqar, Lee or Srinath). It’s just his mindset. You throw him the new ball, he does it. You ask him in to bowl in the middle, he does it. However, he is not that powerful hitter also. He had given that belief that the world is your stage. The market allows you to become big.”
Pakistani Experts Make Obvious Choice
“Aisi hitting, ye hamari team mein aam thhi. He’s really good, but this was the norm in Pakistan’s team.” Hafeez then further added to Akhtar’s comment, saying the Pakistani had bigger performances. “I would agree with him. You take out the details of Abdul Razzaq’s performances. He was a better and bigger performer.
“But the system didn’t look after him and the player also didn’t respond that much. He was limited in his skills, didn’t try to outdo his own potential. Whatever I’ve seen of Razzaq, he was better than this version of Hardik,” Hafeez said.
For the record, Hardik Pandya has played 94 ODIs, where he has picked up 91 wickets. Razzaq had 269 in 265 matches. On batting front, the Indian has scored 1904 runs at an average of 33, while Razzaq scored 5080 runs at an average of 29.
