Razzaq's demands cost him international place, claims report

A report in the Pakistan-based International News claims that Abdul Razzaq was left out of the side to tour England because of his attitude, despite originally being included in the 16-man squad.

Apparently Razzaq was originally picked by the selectors, but told them he would only be able to join the squad three days before the first of the three one-day internationals as he was committed to playing for Middlesex. He did much the same in the recent Bank Alfalah Cup, linking up with the side two days before the tournament began.

The situation was further clouded with a claim that the decision was made to replace Razzaq with Bilal Asad, an uncapped allrounder, after two of the selectors had returned home, and that Rashid Latif, Pakistan's captain, had been a key instigator of the change.

The report quotes a source close to the selectors as claiming that Razzaq was only included because of his experience, and the general feeling was that he had become stale. When Razzaq tried to dictate his own terms, it is suggested that the change was made as it was felt that allowing him to do as he wanted would be detrimental to team morale.