A tall and orthodox left arm spinner by nature, Abdur Razzak comes across as a bowler who can trouble the batsmen on slow and wearing sub-continent tracks. He made his domestic debut in 2001-02 and helped his side Khulna to their first ever national league title. In the next year, his good shows helped Victoria Sporting Club win the Dhaka Premier division. The consistent shows earned him a spot in the Bangladesh A side for the 5 match one day series against Zimbabwe in 2004. He continued to impress and picked up 15 wickets in the series, including 7 for 17 in a game in Dhaka.

A national call up came soon as he was picked up for the Asia Cup in 2004. He had a good debut, picking up 3 wickets against Hong Kong, but was reported for a suspect action after the next game. He played just one more ODI in the next one year but made his way back after changing his action. A Test call up came when Australia toured Bangladesh in 2006 but Razzak failed to impress. He had more success in the One Day format and put up a good show in the 2006 Champions Trophy. Two months later, in December 2006, Razzak achieved his career best bowling figures of 5 for 33 in a match against Zimbabwe.

But his problems with the bowling action returned in 2008 when he was reported for chucking once again. An independent analysis found that he was bending his arm by 28 degrees, which was 14 degrees more than the permissible limit. As a result, he was suspended from bowling for one year. However, Razzak impressed after his return in 2009, picking up 7 wickets in 2 matches against West Indies in 2009. He followed it up with a Man of the Series performance against the visiting Zimbabweans, where he picked up 15 wickets from the 5 match series. He continued to perform well in the pre- World Cup games and was especially impressive in the sub-continent, forming a formidable spin pair with captain Shakib Al Hasan.

Razzak was the only Bangladeshi player to play in the Indian Premier League's inaugural season in 2008. He represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and although he got just one game, Razzak said he gained a lot from the experience of talking to legends like Anil Kumble. On 28 March 2013, Razzak picked up 5 wickets in the 3rd ODI against Sri Lanka and became the first bowler from Bangladesh to get 200 ODI wickets. He also has the fastest fifty by a Bangladeshi batsmen. The innings was played against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on 5 May 2013. Razzak was also part of the side that played the 2014 Asia Cup, he was in the team when Afghanistan beat them and they failed to win a single game in the tournament.

Since 2014, Razzak hadn't played an international game but didn't lose hope of a comeback. His self-belief and hard work didn't fail him as he earned a recall for the home series against Sri Lanka in January 2018. The call up came on the basis of a strong domestic season where he is currently the leading wicket-taker. At the fag end of his career, the canny left-arm spinner will hope to add value to the Bangladesh outfit with his vast experience.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan