Twitter was filled with congratulations, and love two days ago for one Pakistani cricketer whose game shocked everyone and made people, especially Pakistan Cricket Board realize that he is here to stay! His game proved his mettle through his magnificent game! He is none other than FAWAD ALAM!

Fawad Alam

Fawad Tariq Alam is a Karachi-born Pakistani cricketer who plays for Pakistan national cricket team. He came back into Pakistan’s test team after a gap of 88 tests and more than 10 years, the second-longest gap by a Pakistani in test cricket after Younis Ahmed’s 104 tests gap. Alam plays primarily as a left-handed batsman but also bowls slow left-arm orthodox. Fawad made his Test debut in 2009, playing in three matches. After a gap of more than ten years, he played Test cricket again for Pakistan, against England, in August 2020. Fawad currently plays for the Pakistan test team only.

The Selection of Fawad Alam – An Enigma

Alam’s selection over these past 10 years has been a mystery. Despite the number of runs, he gathered year upon year in domestic cricket!

The Ignorance For Fawad Alam By Chief Selectors

Alam’s average in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy over the past four years has been 40.71, 55.54, 56, and 71.90. The left-hander has been overlooked for Tests by various selection committees and captains over the past eight years. Chief Selector Iqbal Qasim dropped Fawad Alam for the first time, Mohsin Khan ignored him in 2009, and then Mohammad Ilyas, Moin Khan, also ignored Fawad during their tenures as chief selectors. Haroon Rasheed selected him in the team but not picked him in the playing 11.

Fawad made his Test debut in 2009, scoring 168, and played a further Test against New Zealand later that year, but was subsequently dropped, and hasn’t played Test cricket since. During the intervening years, he made it into the limited-overs squads occasionally and went on to play 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is until 2015. But it is Test cricket he is best suited to, his average in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy consistently well over 50.

Inzamam’s critical comment on Fawad Alam

He was called up by Inzamam among the 25 other players in the fitness camp ahead of the Ireland and England tour, only to be ignored yet again. During an interview with Cricinfo, Inzamam stated, “Fawad Alam is an outstanding player but in the last three years there are others at the top of the list, we got him here in the nets but we found Saad Ali to be better, and the decision was unanimous, with input from all the coaching staff and captain. Fawad is a good player and we obviously can’t ignore his career average; that is why he was brought into the camp. During my tenure, I have given 12 to 14 players an opportunity and none of them have disappointed us. If you look back in the past three seasons, there are players who have scored more runs than Fawad Alam.”

He added, “Dropping any player doesn’t mean we are disregarding them. It’s easy to pick players following scorecards or statistics, but there are many more things we take into consideration. I am not sure why Fawad wasn’t picked in the past before me but if you ask me about my tenure as chief selector, I have seen better players.”

Response By Fawad Alam over Inzamam’s Comment

To which Fawad Alam responded, “He is one of our legends, I am not even close to him. That he said something about me, and I should reply to that but I can’t do that and my parents always taught me to have respect for elders.” Fawad further said, “That’s his way of thinking. I will try to deliver and not focus on such things because that will bring negativity. He will always remain a legend for me, I can’t reply to what he said.”

“If someone is comparing me with Ramprakash, that’s a big honor for me, he was a big player and played many matches for his country also. However much I’ve played, he played a lot more than me and made more than 100 hundred, I don’t even have half that many. I will try my best to perform and prove people wrong.” He added.

 Well, he did put many of those selectors wrong this time with his spectacular performance during the Pakistan South Africa Test Series happening in National Stadium! Fans and followers are rejoicing as he scored a century despite all the ignorance. Twitter reacted and gave him the title of ‘King of Karachi.’

Journalist Dennis Freedman Apologizes To Fawad Alam

Australian Journalist Dennis Freedman also apologizes to Fawad Alam on behalf of Cricket for how he got ignored through all these years. During his interview with RJ Adeel Azhar at SAMAA FM, the journalist further added that he wants to “hug him.” Furthermore, he said, “Fawad Alam is a freak. A God. A beautiful human. A world-class cricketer.”

Cricket is all about unity and for Pakistani fans this has nothing but passion; we believe that if given the right opportunities and chances to the right players and having a good eye over the players’ game rather than ego issues, the Pakistan cricket team will be on top of their game!

READ MORE: BABAR AZAM PRESERVES SECOND SPOT IN T20I RANKINGS