"I have seen better players than Fawad Alam" : Inzamam-ul-Haq

[srh]

Chief selector of Pakistan cricket team Inzamam-ul-Haq has responded to the criticism that has followed Fawad Alam’s exclusion for England, Ireland tour, he said, “Fawad Alam is an outstanding player but in the last three years there are others at the top of the list,” Inzamam said.

Talking about Alam’s selection, who has been overlooked yet again, the former skipper compared Saad Ali better than Fawad.

“We got him here in the nets but we found Saad Ali to be better, and the decision to prefer Saad 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.”

“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,” he added.

Alam was last picked in 2015 that played three Test matches against England. Despite Fawad’s consistently high batting average in the domestic circuit and second highest points in the fitness test among the 25 probable in the fitness camp, he once again ignored by the selectors.

Defending his decision of not selecting Fawad Alam in the squad, the chief-selector said, “I am not taking away anything from Fawad, as he has scored a lot of runs in domestic cricket at a great average. When there is a competition, some players get left out, but that doesn’t mean their career ends there,” Inzamam said.

“We haven’t ignored him, we have actually given an opportunity to a few others we thought were more suited to English conditions. Last season, we had tough bowling conditions in the QeA, and Saad Ali was a stand-out performer, and that is why he was preferred. I have spoken to Fawad on many occasions and given him the confidence to keep on working hard.

“I know people are very critical about his non-selection but we need to see things in perspective. People have expectations and they want to see their team win every game which brings a lot of responsibility on us. I have nothing against any player. We have a responsibility and what is important is we do not fail it. We must select players on merit. I am lucky that most of my picks so far are paying off well, and we now have a bigger pool of players.”

The inclusion of Inzamam’s nephew in the squad who had a slightly worse average than Alam in the 2016-17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, he said it wasn’t an individual’s decision.

“Picking Imam is a tough decision but this is one decision I didn’t take,” Inzamam said. “People might be cynical about this but the head coach Mickey Arthur, batting coach Grant Flower and other selectors made the decision to select Imam. I am the part of the discussion group, but I didn’t say anything about it. The report given by trainers and coaches about him showed a significant improvement in his skill and fitness levels. He was already in the system even before my becoming selector, so associating me shouldn’t be a point of discussion.”

https://arysports.tv/i-have-seen-bet...-alam-inzamam/




I was reading this news report about Fawad Alam not selected for the Test squad again and in the report Inzamam mentioned that Saad Ali is better than Fawad Alam and thats why Fawad Alam is not selected.

Inzamam is wrong in using Saad Ali as reason for dropping Fawad Alam. Everybody knows Saad Ali is currently the best batsman in domestic cricket by quite a margin and so case of selecting Saad Ali over Fawad Alam is pretty easy on merit.

What Inzamam is not mentioning is that he has selected 4 openers instead of selecting 3 openers and 1 middle order batsman. And one of those 4 openers is his nephew Imam-ul-Haq. So in reality Inzamam has used Imam-ul-Haq as reason for dropping Fawad Alam. And thats where the problem is as Imam-ul-Haq cannot be selected over Fawad Alam on merit.

[Mercurial]

Even this reason is weak.

[Plumb]

Yes he has... Akmals, Imran Farhat, Shan and the list goes on...

[SarfiBabarHaris]

So much media backing for Faadi but no one questioning the continuous non.selection of Sadaf Hussain
Perks of being from a small city

Sadaf is tall, extracts bounce and can swing the ball both ways. Would have been ideal in England but hey who cares as is mai masala kahan ;)

[babajee]

I just hope Saad Ali’s performances aren’t a fluke.

[boomboom6]

How can you possibly judge who is better when Saad Ali has not even made his international debut whereas Fawad has a proven track record? More dross from Inzi and this think tank !!

[Boycottisno2]

I will back Inzi for his selections .... he has not got many selections wrong .... Inzi at the helm has made right decisions over his tenure .... i trust him 100% over non selection of Fawad Alam.... i am seeing bright light at the end of the tunnel .... as i see Pakistan winning regularly in the future.... Thanks Inzi and Thanks Micky.....

[carbon11]

for me I wouldn't play either

I would go

Sami aslam
Inam Ul haq
Azhar ali
Fakhar zaman/ Harris
Babar azam
Asad Shafiq
Sarfraz

I would put four batsmen in who are openers in top order and who can play the new ball because we are playing England in England in may and will swing and seam so chances of wickets falling cheaply there will be high probability it will be tough for our batsmen , but even then I wouldn't mind benching fakhar and trying Harris and instead play with 3 openers
But I think fakhar gives another dimension a different factor in the lineup


I'd rather try fawad saad ali in UAE it will be much fairer on them because if they failed in England it will be career ending especially for fadi everyone will be attacking him

[carbon11]

I just hope Saad Ali’s performances aren’t a fluke.

It's totally unfair to expect a debutant to perform In totally alien conditions abroad .

I hope he isn't thrown under the bus

[babajee]

It's totally unfair to expect a debutant to perform In totally alien conditions abroad .

I hope he isn't thrown under the bus

I’d rather he didn’t debut too. Should be eased into tests in UAE maybe against NZ in October.

[Sirris]

He has been treated unfairly, however Fawad's fans need to take his posters off the wall.

The ship has sailed, it's time to move on.

[Hasan123]

I just hope Saad Ali’s performances aren’t a fluke.

No way do you have the strike rate he had in the domestic season and it be a fluke!

[Fast Bowler]

You can question Inzi about a lot of things but certainly not when it comes to batting.

From what I understand, he is simply saying they found Saad to be a better batsman. People need to understand that cricket is not just about numbers. Selecting one batsman over another has also got to do with potential and long term future.

I am a big Fawad Alam fan and do feel he should be in the squad but if Inzi says Saad is better, then I will go with him on this.

[HuzaifaE]

So much media backing for Faadi but no one questioning the continuous non.selection of Sadaf Hussain
Perks of being from a small city

Sadaf is tall, extracts bounce and can swing the ball both ways. Would have been ideal in England but hey who cares as is mai masala kahan ;)

How about Hammad "McGrath" Azam and his similarly ravishing stats?

[HuzaifaE]

How can you possibly judge who is better when Saad Ali has not even made his international debut whereas Fawad has a proven track record? More dross from Inzi and this think tank !!

Fawad has a "proven track record" on the exact same basis that Inzamam judged Saad to be a better batsman. Either admit Fawad's stats aren't the end all, be all, or be consistent enough to see that Saad almost doubled his output in the last QeA trophy. It's really not that complicated.

[Plumb]

Heard a lot about Usman, seem some videos of him, seems like a very stylish player. Really excited to see what he brings to the team...

[babajee]

No way do you have the strike rate he had in the domestic season and it be a fluke!

You can have second season syndrome.

What I mean is - I hope he can replicate those kinds of performances for Pakistan.

[Railu Katta]

Fawad and Sadaf are PP darlings. There was so much cry for Awais Zia, Mukhtar, Umar Amin, Hammad Azam but they all turned out to be duds. Fawad won't last an over in England. He served Pakistan well during 2013-14 but now he's too old and younger kids should be preferred.

[asma_cricfan]

Yes inzi you are right. Every akmal and the member of model town gang is a better player than anyone else. Too bad both akmals didn't do well enough in psl. One dropped dollies again and got cramps after 10 overs and the idiot one's story we all know. Else you would select both of them.

[cricketAXEpert]

Inzamam once again ignores Fawad Alam.

Fazeer Mohammad : "WHY DID HE DO THAT?"

:fazeer

[Saj]

ok I'll put it out there - is Fawad nowadays really the player he was early in his career?

I saw him last year struggling in league cricket in the UK.

[OoparCut]

“Picking Imam is a tough decision but this is one decision I didn’t take,” Inzamam said. “People might be cynical about this but the head coach Mickey Arthur, batting coach Grant Flower and other selectors made the decision to select Imam. I am the part of the discussion group, but I didn’t say anything about it. The report given by trainers and coaches about him showed a significant improvement in his skill and fitness levels. He was already in the system even before my becoming selector, so associating me shouldn’t be a point of discussion"

This is a silly denial by Inzy. If anything he should acknowledge that this will be an obvious point of discussion.

[boomboom6]

Fawad has a "proven track record" on the exact same basis that Inzamam judged Saad to be a better batsman. Either admit Fawad's stats aren't the end all, be all, or be consistent enough to see that Saad almost doubled his output in the last QeA trophy. It's really not that complicated.

Fawad is a proven performer at international level, Saad hasn't even made his debut hence this is a laughable red herring.

Now it is possible that Saad may perform after making his debut but to conclude that he is better then Fawad already is a ridiculous assumption.

[boomboom6]

ok I'll put it out there - is Fawad nowadays really the player he was early in his career?

I saw him last year struggling in league cricket in the UK.

We can only know once he actually gets a chance to play!

[Hasan123]

Inzi doesn't rate Fawad. So we know why he isn't selected.

[AFM]

100% agree with Inzy here

[HuzaifaE]

Now it is possible that Saad may perform after making his debut but to conclude that he is better then Fawad already is a ridiculous assumption.

I mean that's literally the assumption Inzamam is obviously operating on, so it's obviously not a ridiculous assumption if the point of a selector is to judge and predict what will happen and who will perform...What's Inzamam meant to say, "No no sit down Saad Ali son, I know you almost doubled Fawad's output in the QeA but he's 'proven', you're not, and PP'ers will throw a tantrum if I don't select Fawad instead". If you want to select a guy based on domestic performances and reward them based on merit, then in the recent past, you go for Saad Ali, it's that simple.

[PakLFC]

Seems as though the PCB has got something personal against Fawad. Perhaps his ugly stance at the crease is the reason of his omission.

[Rishta Aunty]

"I have seen better selectors than Inzaman" - Rishta Aunty.

See how pointless these kind of statements are? Whether you think Fawad is going to kill it or not, he's done enough to deserve a chance.

[PakLFC]

Fawad in my opinion is better then Imam-ul-Haq. No nepotism at work here eh Inzi bhai!!

[fawad_wellwisher]

ok I'll put it out there - is Fawad nowadays really the player he was early in his career?

I saw him last year struggling in league cricket in the UK.

Then it may be a blessing in disguise for him that he was not selected.

[MeanAndGreen]

Love some of the reactions on this thread .

'He should be given a chance because of his record over the past 10 years'

'He should be given a chance for the effort he's put in'

This isn't a club, this is the PAK national team. Yes Fawad should've been given a chance years back but the time is over. This isn't about rewarding people, it's about selecting the best XI players on form, potential and strategy - which Fawad doesn't fall into.
Ironic that the ones calling for Fawad are some the same people who went to great lengths to abuse Misbah and Younus after they were selected for the West Indies tour, stating that they were playing on past reputations. I'm willing to bet half the people supporting Fawad haven't even watched him bat in the past 18 months and have no idea that Saad Ali has almost doubled his output in the recent First Class trophy.

[shane]

Who is better than Fawad Alam exactly? Inzamam's nephew?

I have seen a handful of better players than Alam in the past few years too. None of them have been Pakistani.

[ahmedwaqas92]

I sincerely hope his nephew gets some severe chin music wherever he goes and is dismissed for as many ducks as possible throughout his career! Snatching someone's livelihood is so easily justifiable isn't it.

Inzamam has blatantly shown nepotism and favoritism during his playing career (Asim Kamal - because his own place would've been threatened from the early to mid 2000s) and now is doing the same during his pathetic stint as a chief selecter.

For all the religiousity he shows on 'TV' essay pata nahe hay kya Allah ko Bhi munh Dikhana Hoga Kabhi Na Kabhi??!!

[Lefthanded]

I mean that's literally the assumption Inzamam is obviously operating on, so it's obviously not a ridiculous assumption if the point of a selector is to judge and predict what will happen and who will perform...What's Inzamam meant to say, "No no sit down Saad Ali son, I know you almost doubled Fawad's output in the QeA but he's 'proven', you're not, and PP'ers will throw a tantrum if I don't select Fawad instead". If you want to select a guy based on domestic performances and reward them based on merit, then in the recent past, you go for Saad Ali, it's that simple.

The problem is that to Fawad the law of merit didn't apply for years, and one feels that maybe he still some time left in him.

Saad Ali deserves to be in the squad. Imam on the other hand doesn't. Pakistan have 3 openers with Azhar, Fakhar and Sami. Haris can bat anywhere. No reason Fawad can't be in the squad ahead of him.

If Saad Ali was excluded this would be the first serious claim to selection that he'd miss out on.

First, but Fawad's serious claims go back seasons, with a Test century in nothing number of Tests.

Maybe it's time to accept Fawad is one of the hardest done by the PCB, and his time has passed. Sad, but highly unlikely he'll turn up even if the young batsmen can't cope with the ball in the UK and in future series.

[moghul]

Poor guy piled up thousands of runs over a decade in FC cricket, averaged > 50 but could not impress the Selectors in "nets", discarded.

[waleed88]

Any thing before the word 'but' doesn't mean anything...

[waleed88]

Love some of the reactions on this thread .

'He should be given a chance because of his record over the past 10 years'

'He should be given a chance for the effort he's put in'

This isn't a club, this is the PAK national team. Yes Fawad should've been given a chance years back but the time is over. This isn't about rewarding people, it's about selecting the best XI players on form, potential and strategy - which Fawad doesn't fall into.
Ironic that the ones calling for Fawad are some the same people who went to great lengths to abuse Misbah and Younus after they were selected for the West Indies tour, stating that they were playing on past reputations. I'm willing to bet half the people supporting Fawad haven't even watched him bat in the past 18 months and have no idea that Saad Ali has almost doubled his output in the recent First Class trophy.

Yes before he didn't play because YK, Misbah and Umar Akmal were in the team, then Babar Azam came along, then Asad Shafiq...

Even Iftikhar Ahmed also made a brief appearance for 1 test match...

Mohammad Rizwan a batsman with even a more shoddy technique managed to bag a handful of matches as the wicket keeper batsman, until finally being discarded...

Its Fawad Alam, that can't get a smell of even being a part of the final squad of 16... Its always blah blah blah this that, and whatever... now it is we are trying the youngsters..

Its like read a novel but skipping a chapter in between and jumping on to the last part of the book... claiming only the beginning and the ending matters for a novel

Spot fixers can shame countries, make amends, and come back and play and become a regular in the side after being out for 5 years, but a guy who has been performing in the domestics for a decade can't make it EVEN in the final squad, forget the playing XI

[waleed88]

The problem is that to Fawad the law of merit didn't apply for years, and one feels that maybe he still some time left in him.

Saad Ali deserves to be in the squad. Imam on the other hand doesn't. Pakistan have 3 openers with Azhar, Fakhar and Sami. Haris can bat anywhere. No reason Fawad can't be in the squad ahead of him.

If Saad Ali was excluded this would be the first serious claim to selection that he'd miss out on.

First, but Fawad's serious claims go back seasons, with a Test century in nothing number of Tests.

Maybe it's time to accept Fawad is one of the hardest done by the PCB, and his time has passed. Sad, but highly unlikely he'll turn up even if the young batsmen can't cope with the ball in the UK and in future series.

Saad Ali can handle a disappointment or two in life, it doesn't hurt anyone... Without rewarding those who wait patiently for a chance, the system becomes a farce.

Misbah is one such example of a player who was discarded due to unfair reasons, in return he revived his career at the age of 33, and went to play 10 more years, affecting careers of players who were waiting in the wings feeling aggrieved and mistreated. Injustice begets injustice, PCB is making sure a cycle of hard feelings and betrayal continues.

This tour has flashbacks of England 2010, young side can't manage to win a match on its own, with Azhar (except one innings), Umar Amin, Umar Akmal and all the other youngsters failing...

Suddenly Moyo and Yasir Hameed come along and Pakistan end up winning a test match at the oval - with Azhar scoring 91...

Playing youngsters on english tours has always been a failure, proper grooming is never gotten, instead of playing an A tour which is the proper channel for youngsters to be groomed (like Babar Azam), this guy is sent up and played in a sink or swim type scenario... Which is ridiculous because the International team is not a grooming factory for young talent... PCB trying to save budget by saving on A tours, our International team has changed its resume' to that apparently

[Hawkeye]

Fun to see the statisticians getting riled up.

Fawad wouldn't last more than a few overs in England and doesn't have a high ceiling either.

Batsmen are not selected by placing them in a spreadsheet and sorting the domestic average from high to low.

Even CAPTAIN and coach did not want him, and there's a reason for it.

Abuse Inzi all you want, and it's sad to see Fawad not getting a chance, but that's the harsh reality of international cricket. Better batsmen will be chosen over you.

[msb314]

We can only know once he actually gets a chance to play!

Exactly what I was thinking - couldn’t have said it better myself

[waleed88]

Fun to see the statisticians getting riled up.

Fawad wouldn't last more than a few overs in England and doesn't have a high ceiling either.

Batsmen are not selected by placing them in a spreadsheet and sorting the domestic average from high to low.

Even CAPTAIN and coach did not want him, and there's a reason for it.

Abuse Inzi all you want, and it's sad to see Fawad not getting a chance, but that's the harsh reality of international cricket. Better batsmen will be chosen over you.

Yes, apparently Saeed Ajmal can get a 50 in England in a test match, but a guy who has been the highest averaging run getter in domestics won't be able to survive the crazy conditions of England... my word!

[rhony]

"I have seen better selectors than Inzaman" - Rishta Aunty.

See how pointless these kind of statements are? Whether you think Fawad is going to kill it or not, he's done enough to deserve a chance.

Lol. At the end of the day it appears Coach and Captain don't want him in the team. Even if he was part of 16, for all we know he wouldn't have been part of 11. Inzi thought if someone's going there just to sight see, it might as well be his nephew.

[MMHS]

Fawad seems to be the ATG in PP, most people expects much more from him than the confidence his batting style gives me😩

Fawad was denied for few years between 2009 to 2015; when he was scoring lot in domestics; but that can’t be used as an excuse to call him now. And I don’t thing bringing Imam helps here - one is opener & one is no. 5. Personally, I won’t have picked Imam, rather would have picked one extra pacer (may be Wahab), while Fawad doesn’t make it ahead of Saad.

Here I have to support Inzi - he is trying to save Saad Ali from being the next Fawad Alam 6 years later. Not many times PCB (it's selectors) pick young players when they are in form, rather they pick them at wrong time, wrong format so that those youngsters can easily be discarded - here IuH has taken a bold step (Arthur must have his input - mentality suddenly don’t change overnight), which must be praised.

[sshakir411]

Fawad seems to be the ATG in PP, most people expects much more from him than the confidence his batting style gives me��

Fawad was denied for few years between 2009 to 2015; when he was scoring lot in domestics; but that can’t be used as an excuse to call him now. And I don’t thing bringing Imam helps here - one is opener & one is no. 5. Personally, I won’t have picked Imam, rather would have picked one extra pacer (may be Wahab), while Fawad doesn’t make it ahead of Saad.

Here I have to support Inzi - he is trying to save Saad Ali from being the next Fawad Alam 6 years later. Not many times PCB (it's selectors) pick young players when they are in form, rather they pick them at wrong time, wrong format so that those youngsters can easily be discarded - here IuH has taken a bold step (Arthur must have his input - mentality suddenly don’t change overnight), which must be praised.

Who do you think should start in the 11...Saad Ali or Usman Salahuddin?

[giri26]

The guy has been hard done by. There has been no explanation as to why he went missing after scoring that hundred on debut against SL. May be it is too late for him now but again, these sort of statements aren't too good coming from a national selector.

[Hawkeye]

Yes, apparently Saeed Ajmal can get a 50 in England in a test match, but a guy who has been the highest averaging run getter in domestics won't be able to survive the crazy conditions of England... my word!

No, it doesn't work like that. Sachin doesn't have a 100 at Lord's but I think even Wasim does. Does that make Wasim better than SRT?

There are better players in line who are also young. They are a more worthy investment and it's time to build them. Like Saad Ali, Imam.

Read the post below:

Fawad seems to be the ATG in PP, most people expects much more from him than the confidence his batting style gives me��

Fawad was denied for few years between 2009 to 2015; when he was scoring lot in domestics; but that can’t be used as an excuse to call him now. And I don’t thing bringing Imam helps here - one is opener & one is no. 5. Personally, I won’t have picked Imam, rather would have picked one extra pacer (may be Wahab), while Fawad doesn’t make it ahead of Saad.

Here I have to support Inzi - he is trying to save Saad Ali from being the next Fawad Alam 6 years later. Not many times PCB (it's selectors) pick young players when they are in form, rather they pick them at wrong time, wrong format so that those youngsters can easily be discarded - here IuH has taken a bold step (Arthur must have his input - mentality suddenly don’t change overnight), which must be praised.

Spot on. Excellent post.

[Abdul]

Why are people not pointing fingers at Arthur? He could've got him in the team if he wanted to.

[asifp]

Why are people not pointing fingers at Arthur? He could've got him in the team if he wanted to.

I bet Micky has no idea about domestic performers in Pakistan

[Sidilicious]

Bit harsh, innit?

[MeanAndGreen]

Yes before he didn't play because YK, Misbah and Umar Akmal were in the team, then Babar Azam came along, then Asad Shafiq...

Even Iftikhar Ahmed also made a brief appearance for 1 test match...

Mohammad Rizwan a batsman with even a more shoddy technique managed to bag a handful of matches as the wicket keeper batsman, until finally being discarded...

Its Fawad Alam, that can't get a smell of even being a part of the final squad of 16... Its always blah blah blah this that, and whatever... now it is we are trying the youngsters..

Its like read a novel but skipping a chapter in between and jumping on to the last part of the book... claiming only the beginning and the ending matters for a novel

Spot fixers can shame countries, make amends, and come back and play and become a regular in the side after being out for 5 years, but a guy who has been performing in the domestics for a decade can't make it EVEN in the final squad, forget the playing XI

Your talking about the past, I'm talking about the present.

Alam deserved to be there in the past - that is something I can't deny but I'm just saying that people shouldn't use that as a justification for his selection now.

Misbah and Younus are 2 PAK greats that deserved to be in the team. Babar Azam at 23 is one of the best LOI batters in the world and deserves a long rope in tests. Shafiq also has played some very significant innings in the past. However if both players continue the same form that they have shown in the past year, Im sure they'll also be dropped. Salahuddin, Saad Ali are waiting in the wings as well.

[letme alone]

Inzi doesn't rate Fawad. So we know why he isn't selected.

yes,after faddi made 160+ in first test.. i remember inzi said his Technique is not good he need to work on his Technique

[letme alone]

I bet Micky has no idea about domestic performers in Pakistan

yes me too. he do what he likes and " kuch player ko siruf larray laga raha hai"

[The_Odd_One]

This is the end of Fawad Alam's career which never really launched.

[letme alone]

Fawad seems to be the ATG in PP, most people expects much more from him than the confidence his batting style gives me��

Fawad was denied for few years between 2009 to 2015; when he was scoring lot in domestics; but that can’t be used as an excuse to call him now. And I don’t thing bringing Imam helps here - one is opener & one is no. 5. Personally, I won’t have picked Imam, rather would have picked one extra pacer (may be Wahab), while Fawad doesn’t make it ahead of Saad.

Here I have to support Inzi - he is trying to save Saad Ali from being the next Fawad Alam 6 years later. Not many times PCB (it's selectors) pick young players when they are in form, rather they pick them at wrong time, wrong format so that those youngsters can easily be discarded - here IuH has taken a bold step (Arthur must have his input - mentality suddenly don’t change overnight), which must be praised.

sir i don't want fawdii success only, we want justice so fair chance. if he will make 0 or more in every match no matter . every single player try to reach goal and when you close door that mean injustice and disappointing.

[letme alone]

This is the end of Fawad Alam's career which never really launched.

sadly for cricketer and shame for selectors over the year who's involves

[Rahul1]

I feel bad for him.

It is sad that a ftb like whose batting average is lower than Ashwin and Jadeja is been given endless chances while he was discarded after 2-3 tests.

[ataullah]

I bet Micky has no idea about domestic performers in Pakistan

When mukhtar ahmed was picked for karachi micky said i have never seen him play. So he doesnt know many players but thanks to psl this is improving

[letme alone]

When mukhtar ahmed was picked for karachi micky said i have never seen him play. So he doesnt know many players but thanks to psl this is improving

yes i agree with you "thanks to psl this is improving"

[Titan24]

We can only know once he actually gets a chance to play!

Bro the thing is its Pakistan's national team not a reality show where whole country will watch how good or bad Fawad Alam is.

They called him to the nets and saw him batting against Hassan, Amir, Abbas etc and found him not to be good enough.

Yes he has been hard done considering he was scoring tons of runs few years ago however its not an admission in a university where you need to score certain marks to be achieve the merit, even in university management can exclude someone who is coming on merit becz they dont find him suitable or the institution.

Domestic is just the platform for the players to perform, someone might score a hundred and doesnt look good enough for internationals and someone might score 40 odd but looks like a potential.

Mickey, Sarfaraz and Inzi are their to judge and if the team will perform poorly they wil be blamed so they have every reason to include or exclude someone who they dont find suitable.

[amvbfm]

For me the worst part of this decision wasn't Fawad not being selected. That was expected. It was Inzi adding insult to injury by picking him in the probables when he never had the intention to select him. But not really a surprise. Never expected him to be selected now, after being ignored during his best years. I wish he had been given a chance to prove himself at some point. His technique notwithstanding, I am sure he has enough grit and experience to tough it out in all sorts of conditions. Alas, I think this is the end of the road for him, at least as far as international cricket is concerned.

[Titan24]

“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,”


Thats the key line, many just look at the stats and scorecards however Pakistan's team selection was never about that and also other teams now a days are also not about just stats but potential.

Otherwise we wouldnt have seen Wasim, Inzimam, now a days Root, Roy and Stokes.

You guys know that Chad Sayers averages a lot better than Mitchel Starc and was better in terms of averages when Starc debuted. However, we know who is a complete and better bowler.

[Titan24]

For me the worst part of this decision wasn't Fawad not being selected. That was expected. It was Inzi adding insult to injury by picking him in the probables when he never had the intention to select him. But not really a surprise. Never expected him to be selected now, after being ignored during his best years. I wish he had been given a chance to prove himself at some point. His technique notwithstanding, I am sure he has enough grit and experience to tough it out in all sorts of conditions. Alas, I think this is the end of the road for him, at least as far as international cricket is concerned.

They saw him in the nets and he didnt look good

[Madplayer]

Saad will be under tremendous pressure. People will be ready to pounce of any of his failures.

[amvbfm]

They saw him in the nets and he didnt look good

Do you really believe that?

Also Fawad Alam's batting NEVER looks good not that they would have picked him even if he batted like Mark Waugh. His fate had already been decided regardless of what he did at the camp. Also there was no point in calling him to the camp when Inzi admits to having seen many better players than him in the past few years and when the focus seems to be on younger talent. This was crueler as it gave him some hope when there is actually none.

You talked about intangibles like potential and talent in your previous post. There are others like grit and experience as well. Someone like Fawad's potential should not be measured by his ugly technique alone, his grit and experience can be useful for a side like Pakistan which has lost two of its main test batsmen in the last year.

[amvbfm]

Saad will be under tremendous pressure. People will be ready to pounce of any of his failures.

Barring any injuries to the main batsmen, don't see him getting a chance any time soon. But it would be really unfair if he is blamed for Fawad's exclusion.

[Shafi]

Why can't you drop proven failure like Babar or even Shafiq for Fawad? Babar ( Fan of him in ODI) does not even fit to tie the shoe lace of Fawad in test.

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Here is my problem:

Why call Fawad to camp? Haven't they seem enough of him over 15+ years? What purpose did it serve? I found it a cynical move.

Other than that, I am over the moon with all of his youth selections. They are talented and fearless. Props to him. The squad is awesome.

[Arham_PakFan]

Imam ul Haq averaged 27 in FC last season.Fawad averaged 40,which is also higher than the averages of Sami Aslam,Fakhar and Usman Salahuddin.There are 4 openers in the squad.Imam could have easily made way for Fawad.

I am not a big fan of Fawad's but Inzi is wrong here.His technique may be wonky but he's churning out the runs.

[boomboom6]

I mean that's literally the assumption Inzamam is obviously operating on, so it's obviously not a ridiculous assumption if the point of a selector is to judge and predict what will happen and who will perform...What's Inzamam meant to say, "No no sit down Saad Ali son, I know you almost doubled Fawad's output in the QeA but he's 'proven', you're not, and PP'ers will throw a tantrum if I don't select Fawad instead". If you want to select a guy based on domestic performances and reward them based on merit, then in the recent past, you go for Saad Ali, it's that simple.

Stop trying to defend this pathetic decision from Inzi ... he was interviewed on Game On Hai and Rashid Latif took him to the cleaners by basically speaking for all of PP and fans elsewhere by letting Inzi know directly that Fawad's non-selection is unjustified when someone like Babar keeps playing despite averaging 24 in 11 tests ... Pakistan's best FC batsman of all-time can't get into a team that got thumped at home by the weakest SL team of all time because apparently there are better players who couldn't chase 127 in UAE

I don't have a problem with Saad getting selected. I have a problem with likes of Babar, Sami Aslam, Imam and to an extent Shafiq getting selected ahead of Fawad.

[letme alone]

and here is my problem:
why you provide state of three year why you not provide 4 year look and fourth year ...71.00+ average .

why you was sitting silence when they select amam

[boomboom6]

No, it doesn't work like that. Sachin doesn't have a 100 at Lord's but I think even Wasim does. Does that make Wasim better than SRT?

There are better players in line who are also young. They are a more worthy investment and it's time to build them. Like Saad Ali, Imam.

Better based on what exactly? Your imagination?

[boomboom6]

Love some of the reactions on this thread .

'He should be given a chance because of his record over the past 10 years'

'He should be given a chance for the effort he's put in'

This isn't a club, this is the PAK national team. Yes Fawad should've been given a chance years back but the time is over. This isn't about rewarding people, it's about selecting the best XI players on form, potential and strategy - which Fawad doesn't fall into.
Ironic that the ones calling for Fawad are some the same people who went to great lengths to abuse Misbah and Younus after they were selected for the West Indies tour, stating that they were playing on past reputations. I'm willing to bet half the people supporting Fawad haven't even watched him bat in the past 18 months and have no idea that Saad Ali has almost doubled his output in the recent First Class trophy.

Fawad had a better FC season then Usman Salahuddin, Sami Aslam, and Imam ul Haq.

Rashid Latif who knows more about domestic FC then all of PP combined brought this up on Game on Hai and he even questioned Inzi through live call on the program on the selection of Babar despite him only averaging 24 in 11 tests while Fawad can't find a place in the team. He basically put Inzi on the hot seat and his response was nothing short of trying to save his face.

[boomboom6]

Bro the thing is its Pakistan's national team not a reality show where whole country will watch how good or bad Fawad Alam is.

They called him to the nets and saw him batting against Hassan, Amir, Abbas etc and found him not to be good enough.

Yes he has been hard done considering he was scoring tons of runs few years ago however its not an admission in a university where you need to score certain marks to be achieve the merit, even in university management can exclude someone who is coming on merit becz they dont find him suitable or the institution.

Domestic is just the platform for the players to perform, someone might score a hundred and doesnt look good enough for internationals and someone might score 40 odd but looks like a potential.

Mickey, Sarfaraz and Inzi are their to judge and if the team will perform poorly they wil be blamed so they have every reason to include or exclude someone who they dont find suitable.

Fawad is a proven performer whenever given a chance, hence none of this stands up. Back in 2010 vs England in England in ODIs, Fawad was 1 of the 2 best batsman from the team.

He most certainly deserves to be rewarded for the mountain of runs he has piled up over the last decade. Heck he deserved to be in the playing XI back in 2009 onwards well ahead of Azhar & Shafiq both of whom were averaging in the 30s in FC when they got selected !!

[letme alone]

after every failure there are lot of accuses should invest on youngster and then again fail and change another youngster .

+senior failure don't touch because that is a senior

[KyoOne]

ok I'll put it out there - is Fawad nowadays really the player he was early in his career?

I saw him last year struggling in league cricket in the UK.

All Pakistan players have struggled in England at some point or the other.

QEA Trophy this year was quite challenging with Dukes used and chilly conditions, yet Fawad managed to average over 40 (and incidentally, all his previous domestic seasons he's done even better!).

That in itself, and the fact that he's topped the fitness test yet again, is an indication of the fact that he's still got in himself to pile runs for the country like he's always done in domestics

[ShahidDar08]

Inzi is a great selector, before the squad was announced i was scared he might include Fawad Alam due to so much pressure from media, but he proved again why he is best when it comes to team selections.

Should have selected one more spinner instead of Imam/Fakhar. Not good surface to debut Fakhar, God forbid, it may shatter his confidence if he fails.

[barah_admi]

There have been a few odd selections by Inzy and the committee, looking at this squad alone, it's a bit odd that Rahat Ali gets in, who didnt exactly shine last FC season. The selection of so many openers is another issue. One of them could and should have been taken out to make space for a middle order batsman.

It is also weird that only one spinner has been selected, that too a 19 year old with minimal test long game experience.

Let's hope some of these pay off.

[letme alone]

rashid sports Sadaf Hussain and Mir Hamza along faddi
"Rashid further said that Mir Hamza, the left-arm fast bowler who was part of the squad during the Sri Lanka series last October, should have been picked along with Sadaf Hussain
..Both are extremely talented youngsters with outstanding record. Hamza has 258 first-class wickets at 18.22 while Sadaf has got 358 wickets at 18.37. Compared those figures with that of Rahat Ali’s Test statistics, only 58 wickets in 20 Tests at 37.43…. No comparison,” " dawn news

[Hawkeye]

Ton of media pressure on Inzi.

But so glad he didn't give up and chose the squad on merit, cricketing potential plus technique.

Also glad Ppers who rely on spreadsheets aren't the selectors.