Abdul Razzaq

Early in his career Abdul Razzaq was expected to become Pakistan's most complete allrounder since Imran Khan, but although he didn't quite get there, he was a more than dependable player across formats. He was once rapid enough to open the bowling and was always composed enough to bat anywhere in the order, though it was lower down that suited him best.

His bowling - the reason he was first noticed - was characterised by a galloping approach, accuracy and reverse swing. But it was his batting that was more likely to win matches. He boasted a prodigious array of strokes and was particularly strong driving through cover and mid-off off both feet.

Razzaq had two gears: block or blast. Cut off the big shots and he would get bogged down, although patience was his virtue as he demonstrated in a match-saving fifty against India in Mohali in 2005. Just prior to that he had also played a bewilderingly slow innings in Australia, scoring four runs in over two hours. When the occasion demanded it, though, he could slog with the best of them: England were pillaged for a 22-ball 51 at the end of 2005 and then taken for nearly 60 runs in the last three overs of an ODI in September the following year.

It wasn't smooth sailing through Razzaq's career. He suffered a slump, particularly in his bowling, between 2002 and 2004, when, though his place in the team wasn't under threat, there was uncertainty over how best to use him. But if the pitch was in any way helpful to seam - as it was in his first and only Test five-wicket haul in Karachi in 2004, or against India at the same venue in January 2006 - he could be a proper danger. Though Kamran Akmal's hundred overshadowed all in the 2006 Karachi win over India, Razzaq's performance in that game was easily his most emphatic as an allrounder: he scored 45 and 90 and took seven wickets.

A combination of injuries and poor form put his Test place into question and a knee injury days before the 2007 World Cup meant Pakistan missed his presence in a disastrous campaign. A lacklustre comeback saw Razzaq being omitted from the 2007 T20 World Cup and he subsequently announced his retirement from international cricket. He went on to sign for Worcestershire as well as for the Indian Cricket League, which ruled him out of Pakistan contention. He took back his decision to retire but committed himself to the ICL for two seasons, during which he served Hyderabad Heroes as one of their star players.

After a global amnesty for ICL players, Razzaq was welcomed back to the Pakistan fold for the 2009 T20 World Cup in England and made an immediate impact as Pakistan won the tournament. He played the 2011 50-over World Cup as well, but didn't have a significant impact in it.