Overconfidence led to debacle in South Africa: Razzaq

Veteran all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has blamed Pakistan's Test debacle in South Africa on the "overconfidence" of the players, saying that the team's batsmen were just not prepared for the intimidating bowling attack of the Proteas.

"I think overconfidence was the primary reason for the defeats," Razzaq told Geo Super channel.

Razzaq, who was ignored for the South Africa series despite his vast experience, said Pakistan -- after doing well in Tests in the last two years in the UAE, Sri Lanka and India -- were not prepared for the conditions in South Africa.

"I thought they were a bit overconfident about this series after doing well in the last two years against most teams. Unfortunately they were not ready for an informed South African pace attack," he added.

The seasoned all-rounder said it was Pakistan's bad luck that none of their top players managed to perform in the Test series.

He also felt that another reason for the debacle was the absence of experienced players in the team.

"When I went to South Africa for the first time I had senior players like Wasim, Waqar, Inzamam, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, Saeed Anwar to guide me and I did well there by reducing my backlift. On this tour, unfortunately the team missed seniors," he said.

He pointed out that Younis Khan was the most senior Test player in the side while Umar Gul was the most experienced bowler.

"Gul couldn't play the third Test and it was hard on three new bowlers to play together against a top team like South Africa. When you blood new bowlers it must be in the presence of other experienced bowlers in the side. So I don't blame the bowlers and the same rule applies for batting," he said.

Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters