Abdur Razzak becomes first Bangladeshi bowler to take 600 wickets:
The 37-year-old left-arm spinner, Abdur Razzak became the first-ever Bangladeshi bowler to claim 600 first-class wickets. He achieved the milestone during the ongoing National Cricket League (NCL) in Bangladesh.
Razzak is also the first Bangladeshi bowler to take 500 first-class wickets. He achieved that milestone in January 2018.
Before the start of his match at the National Cricket League (NCL), he was sitting at 594 wickets. Abdur Razzak achieved the milestone after he claimed 7 wickets for 69 runs during the first innings of his match during the ongoing domestic tournament. He has now taken 601 first-class wickets. The 7 wickets haul has made him the highest wicket-taker of the National Cricket League (NCL) with 20 wickets. The second person on that list is Sumon khan with 15 wickets in the tournament. He currently plays for Khulna Division in the National Cricket League (NCL).
Bangladesh’s Abdur Razzak about his 600 wickets milestone:
Abdur Razzak expressed his happiness and said that six hundred wickets are not something to be taken lightly. He added that it is a big number in Bangladesh, and people have achieved bigger milestones around the world but no one has done so in his country. He also said that the next bowler will take a lot of time to reach the number.
He said he had never imagined taking 500 or 600 first-class wickets, and it is a very big thing in his country as they don’t have many people with 200 or 300 wickets. He said he is sure that someone will go past him but he is glad that he is the first one to achieve the milestone.
Earlier, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) called for higher fitness levels before the 2019-20 season began in October, which raised some eyebrows regarding fitness of senior players such as Abdur Razzak in the, but the 37-years-old managed to pull through.
Razzak said he is very fortunate that these records are coming from him. He said that someone would have achieved these records, sooner or later. He added that much skill is required to reach this level and he does not know if he is that skillful. Razzak said he tries his best and believes in not giving up. He revealed that he is so passionate about playing cricket that he cannot think of anything else, even when he is out in the middle.
Abdur Razzak has played 12 Test matches and claimed 28 wickets. He has also played 153 ODI matches, taking 207 wickets with an average of 29.29, and 34 T20I matches, taking 44 wickets with an average of 28.89. Razzak made his Test and T20I debut in 2006 and his ODI debut in 2004.
He played his last ODI against West Indies in August 2014 where he turned out a bit expensive for his team, conceding 76 runs for 1 wicket from his 10 overs. He played his last T20I during the same tour which was abandoned due to rain.
His continued performance in the first-class cricket earned him a recall after four years to play against Sri Lanka in 2018, where Razzak claimed 5 wickets with 4 of them coming from the first innings against Sri Lanka. Despite his performance in that match, Razzak has not represented Bangladesh in any form of cricket since then.
Abdur Razzak also said that he is not sure where he sees himself or where he can reach. He said he does not know when he will finish but as long as his fitness and passion are there, he will keep playing.
