Abdur Razzak: Our left-arm spin wizard

Abdur Razzak was not the most glamorous of cricketers but almost quietly served Bangladesh cricket for nearly two decades now. He hasn't been a regular feature in international cricket since 2014 but his records in first-class cricket are second to none in Bangladesh.

His career, in the earlier part, was obstructed by multiple suspensions because of illegal bowling actions but Razzak battled through it. He was one of the players from Bangladesh who carried the fine art of left-arm spin bowling forward.

Razzak's journey in the longest form of cricket was not very long, but it was in ODI cricket where he excelled. Razzak was the first bowler in the history of Bangladesh cricket to take 200 ODI wickets. He was also the second spinner after Saqlain Mushtaq to claim an ODI hat-trick, the first slow left-arm bowler to do so. 

Razzak possesses a quite uncharacteristic record too. He became the joint-fastest half centurion for Bangladesh in ODIs when he scored a 21-ball fifty against Zimbabwe. 

In domestic cricket, Razzak's bowling records are astonishing. In January 2018, the left-arm spinner became the first-ever bowler in Bangladesh to take 500 first-class wickets. The next year he became, again, the first bowler in Bangladesh to take 600 wickets in the first class. The left-arm spinner has taken 634 wickets in 128 first-class matches. Razzak's bowling records are also staggering in List 'A' cricket. He has taken 412 wickets in 260 matches. He is the second-highest wicket-taker in List 'A' cricket, only behind former ODI captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who tops the list with 421 wickets.

Razzak was dropped from the ODI side at the age of 31 despite having a stellar career. He, though, was recalled to the Test side in 2018 for two Tests against Sri Lanka. The second Test against Sri Lanka remained his last international match despite bagging a four-wicket haul in it.

Razzak was the only Bangladeshi player to play in the inaugural season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he played for Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

In March 2020, Razzak was offered a position on the Bangladesh national selection panel. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed his appointment, however. He was still an active player when he was offered the role and decided to bid adieu to professional cricket to serve the team as a selector.

"It is only natural that someone else will take my place because everything comes to an end. I would like to thank my childhood coaches Sarwar Imran and Nazmul Abedeen Fahim. I met them when I was 13 years old, and they changed my life," said Razzak. 

From an excellent bowler who used to cross the umpire in his run-up to a national selector- Abdur Razzak's association with Bangladesh cricket is set to be a long one and the well-wishers of Bangladesh cricket would ideally hope that this new journey will be as successful as the first one.