In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net the Rawalpindi-born allrounder, Azhar Mahmood, spoke of his disappointment at the state of his international career

by Nimra Ishtiaq

08 December, 2011

Azhar Mahmood impressed one and all when he marked the start of his Test career with an unbeaten 128 in the first innings and a fifty in the second innings against South Africa at his home ground in October 1997. He scored two more centuries during the return series the following year, which included his best international innings to date – a 163-ball 132 versus a world class bowling attack consisting of Alan Donald, Shaun Pollock and Fanie de Villiers at the intimidating Kingsmead, Durban. Coming in to bat when Pakistan were 89 for 5, he added 170 to the total, scoring almost 78 per cent of those runs himself. The skills and determination he exhibited during that knock had all the hallmarks of a tremendous talent destined for an illustrious career. Fast forward thirteen years, and the much-touted allrounder has only played 21 Test matches ; something that frustrates Azhar immensely.

Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, the Rawalpindi-born allrounder stated “People used to remember me as a Test player. In 2001 - if you see my record, my best bowling figures were 4 for 50 which came at Lord’s in my second to last Test match. In the next match which was my last test match, I bowled 6 or 7 overs in the entire match. If you look at the scorecard, I scored 37 at Old Trafford. After that, they told me I’m just a One Day player, not a Test player.”

36 year old Azhar continued “In the 21 Tests that I have played, I opened and batted right down to the number 10 position. My batting average is still 30 despite batting at 7 or 8 for most of my innings.”

He added “The current batsmen who are playing – they have averages of 22, 24, 26, 28 and so on. Yet they are playing. I’m not looking to criticize anyone. I am just reflecting on the selection process in Pakistan cricket – and how they sidelined me saying ‘thank you very much, and labelling me a One Day player’. I think it’s very frustrating for me.”

According to some, a possible reason for Mahmood finding himself fallen out of favour with the national selectors was his decreasing fitness levels. Speaking on the subject, Mahmood stated “They said my fitness was an issue. Everyone has fitness issues and it’s not only me. When you play cricket, you get injured. It’s not only about Pakistani cricketers either – these things happen all over the world.”

A prolific performer for Kent, Mahmood was named Kent Cricket’s Player of the Year for 2011 by the Club’s supporters and he believes that his 9-year career in County cricket speaks volumes about his fitness levels. “I have been playing County cricket since 2002. Alhamdulillah, it’s been nine years now. If I had fitness issues, how was I able to play County cricket, which is more demanding than international cricket?”

Summarising his career in a sentence, Mahmood said “I feel that if I had been given a proper chance, my record would have been a lot different.”

Mahmood, who represented Pakistan on 164 occasions, was also once touted as a future Pakistani captain. “It was I think in 2001/02 when General Tauqir Zia first said that” he recalled.

“I really rate him [Tauqir Zia] highly and hold him in high regard. During his tenure, Pakistan cricket got better and better and a lot of good things happened. I am extremely thankful to him for even considering me as a future captain. I was liked by General Tauqir Zia and was playing well – this was the reason why they sidelined me in Tests and applied so much pressure on me that I couldn’t perform. That was a downside – had it not been for that, I would probably be playing [for Pakistan] today.”

Azhar further added “People didn’t want me to become the captain. I also rejected it [the captaincy] at that time. I thought it was too early for me. I just wanted to concentrate on my cricket.”

When asked if he rued his decision to turn down the captaincy, the allrounder replied without hesitation “Yes, definitely. I would say it was the biggest mistake of my cricket career. May be my career would have turned out differently if I had accepted the captaincy. If not anything else, at least I could have been able to say that I was a former Pakistan captain! It’s not a good thing to say now (laughs), as every other person has been the captain of the Pakistan side. These days, it doesn’t make a difference because there are so many captains.”

“Pakistan cricket is not about captaincy – it’s about Pakistan’s image and honour. These things are more important. Captaining Pakistan is an honour. If not given, it’s not an issue. But Pakistan’s prestige and name should be respected.”

In the 143 ODIs that he has played, Azhar Mahmood has scored 1521 runs and bagged 123 wickets. He has represented Pakistan in three World Cups – the latest being the 2007 edition held in the West Indies. Mahmood was a late inclusion in the team as he was not selected in Pakistan’s preliminary 30-member squad for the event.

Recalling how he had received the call-up, Mahmood stated “It was due to a series of events that I made it to the squad. That year, I had performed extremely well playing domestic cricket in Pakistan. I was called up for the training camp for the World Cup because Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar were uncertain due to their dope tests. The training camp went fine and the preparation for the World Cup was excellent. I was bowling to Abdul Razzaq on the last day of the camp and the ball hit him on his leg. He seemed perfectly fine at the time. When the training camp concluded, I left for Karachi. A day later, I got a call from the management saying that I had been selected for the World Cup squad. I asked them who I was replacing and they informed me that Abdul Razzaq was not going because he was unfit.”

The tournament proved to be a disastrous one for Pakistan as they failed to make it past the first round after suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Ireland. The match against Ireland also happened to be Mahmood’s last appearance in national colours. Commenting on the match that broke many Pakistani hearts, Mahmood said “Initially, I wasn't supposed to play the match against Ireland. During the team meeting, it was decided that we would go in with a spin bowler. But the pitch turned out to be a seamer- friendly track. Inzy bhai [Inzamam ul Haq] informed me five minutes before the toss that I would be playing the match. Our batting lineup really struggled on that pitch, me included. We bowled well while defending a low total. An important LBW decision went against us while I was bowling and that could have turned the match around. But defending a low total was always going to be difficult.”

The Pakistani players and their fans were left stunned at the loss, and their pain increased infinitely when Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer’s passed away hours after the match. Mahmood summed up Pakistan’s woes perfectly, stating “The loss [to Ireland] was bad but the worst loss for us during the World Cup was the loss of Bob Woolmer.”