Fawad Alam will surprise everyone!

[Hawkeye]

I'm no Fawad fan.

He has the ugliest stance in the history of the game.

But,

He comes across as someone you can rely on to not get out early.

To score.

Specially when there's no pressure to score runs. He might be a failure in ODIs and T20s, but looks like he has finally been rewarded for the right format.

Tests. First Class.

He might just become our next rescue and reliability machine, at least in Asia.

[Junaids]

I'm no Fawad fan.

He has the ugliest stance in the history of the game.

But,

He comes across as someone you can rely on to not get out early.

To score.

Specially when there's no pressure to score runs. He might be a failure in ODIs and T20s, but looks like he has finally been rewarded for the right format.

Tests. First Class.

He might just become our next rescue and reliability machine, at least in Asia.

Which is exactly what you don’t need.

The batting Top Six already includes four guys in their thirties. None of whom average 40 these last two years.

And now you have recalled an even older one.

Wasim Khan should have given him clear Performance Indicators: to introduce a guy in his thirties you need to permanently retire two more of them.

[Hawkeye]

Which is exactly what you don’t need.

The batting Top Six already includes four guys in their thirties. None of whom average 40 these last two years.

And now you have recalled an even older one.

Wasim Khan should have given him clear Performance Indicators: to introduce a guy in his thirties you need to permanently retire two more of them.

We know about your stance of not selecting anyone in their 30s, but it's been debunked quite a few times. Regardless, you have your opinion.

PPers love Fawad Alam and the recent poll showed that. I'm of the opinion that the ship has sailed for him, but we need someone reliable in our Test batting order. Everyone keeps failing.

Fawad will be that guy.

[Abdullah719]

He might just become our next rescue and reliability machine, at least in Asia.

Wow, Misbah even converted you into a Fawad fan

[minamino]

He has got 2 of the worst bowling attacks in Test cricket coming up to him next year so I wont be surprised at all if he scored bundles of runs.

[MRSN]

This series will show why he was ignored. His technique is not good enough against half a decent pace attack.

[Abdullah]

The batting is not going to be the issue in home tests ( as long as Azhar and Asad hold up and fawad is not replacing them anyway.

Shan Babar haris Rizwan and even imam and abid will score plenty of runs at home. I would rather have invested in some1 who may become a proper runs player abroad too.
I'm ok with the selection as he deserved a go ages ago

[Hawkeye]

Wow, Misbah even converted you into a Fawad fan

I'm not his fan yet. I'm just predicting a possibility.

He's a bit stubborn to get out, and if he can reliably score, then he will surprise me.

[MenInG]

Fawad Alam's stats in recent QEA seasons:

672 runs (average 56) in 2015-16
499 runs (average 55.44) in 2016-17
570 runs (average 40.71) in 2017-18
699 runs (average 69.90) in 2018-19
781 runs (average 71) in the ongoing season#Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) December 7, 2019

[MenInG]

Chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said: “I want to congratulate Fawad Alam on his selection for the Sri Lanka Tests. It is a reward for his continued hard work, perseverance and dedication to the game. His selection is not only a lesson to the emerging cricketers but also a testament of the selectors’ policy of valuing domestic cricket and rewarding consistent performers."

[Hawkeye]

The batting is not going to be the issue in home tests ( as long as Azhar and Asad hold up and fawad is not replacing them anyway.

Shan Babar haris Rizwan and even imam and abid will score plenty of runs at home. I would rather have invested in some1 who may become a proper runs player abroad too.
I'm ok with the selection as he deserved a go ages ago

Shan has already failed in home conditions. Averages 16.

Imam will be the other opener, not Abid. He too might fail.

Babar will score everywhere. He's the only one reliable.


Azhar, Shafiq, Haris have been failing. That's why we have nobody reliable apart from Babar.

[Khan12]

We wouldn't have seen this thread if he was selected by anyone else. In fact it would have been the total opposite.

[Abdullah]

Shan has already failed in home conditions. Averages 16.

Imam will be the other opener, not Abid. He too might fail.

Babar will score everywhere. He's the only one reliable.


Azhar, Shafiq, Haris have been failing. That's why we have nobody reliable apart from Babar.

Haris and Babar have been our best bats.

I'm not interested in Shan's historical record. I'm talking 2019 Shan ( we can argue about this one in a couple of weeks ;) )

Imam ha played 7 matches in SENA , so it's now or never for him.
Again let's see. Though I think Azhar will open to accommodate fawad at 6

[Last Monetarist]

Wasim Khan should have given him clear Performance Indicators: to introduce a guy in his thirties you need to permanently retire two more of them.

Too true. This is a shambolic selection, positively distasteful. The only way Fawad could have got in was if Azhar and Asad were dropped.

[Markhor]

Fawad Alam's stats in recent QEA seasons:

672 runs (average 56) in 2015-16
499 runs (average 55.44) in 2016-17
570 runs (average 40.71) in 2017-18
699 runs (average 69.90) in 2018-19
781 runs (average 71) in the ongoing season#Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) December 7, 2019

In other words if Fawad wasn't selected it would've made a mockery of the concept of merit.

Should've been selected two years ago.

[Hawkeye]

In other words if Fawad wasn't selected it would've made a mockery of the concept of merit.

Should've been selected two years ago.

But he's in his 30s and shouldn't be selected. Shameful selection! Some PPers are having a meltdown and are not brave enough to appreciate this step.

[minamino]

In other words if Fawad wasn't selected it would've made a mockery of the concept of merit.

Should've been selected two years ago.

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

[Junaids]

Fawad Alam's stats in recent QEA seasons:

672 runs (average 56) in 2015-16
499 runs (average 55.44) in 2016-17
570 runs (average 40.71) in 2017-18
699 runs (average 69.90) in 2018-19
781 runs (average 71) in the ongoing season#Cricket

— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) December 7, 2019

Congratulations, you have just shown why a 29 year old Fawad Alam should have replaced Misbah in the team two years before Misbah retired.

[Omer2002]

Haris needs to be sacked

[Junaids]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

It’s called “merit” when it suits Misbah.

But merit doesn’t explain the selection of Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti and recently Musa Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed.

I’m afraid these are just lies, spin.

Merit would have seen Sami Aslam, Zafar Gohar and Sajid Khan in this squad.

[Shaka81]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

Show me the stats which show them performing to the level Fawad Alam has been. Fawad has averaged more than 50 for 4 of the last five seasons. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt averaged barely 40 in the last season and even less than that in the season before. Do some research before making pointless claims.

Fawad deserves his call up for the level of consistency he shows season in season out. No other player can really match him in Pakistan domestic cricket.

Hopefully he succeeds in international cricket too.

[minamino]

Show me the stats which show them performing to the level Fawad Alam has been. Fawad has averaged more than 50 for 4 of the last five seasons. Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt averaged barely 40 in the last season and even less than that in the season before. Do some research before making pointless claims.

Fawad deserves his call up for the level of consistency he shows season in season out. No other player can really match him in Pakistan domestic cricket.

Hopefully he succeeds in international cricket too.

Salman Butt led his side to QEA finals twice in the last two seasons and also scoring centuries in the final whereas Fawad Alam always scores soft runs with no value at all.

[Markhor]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

Unlike Kamran and Butt who've already had extensive Test careers, Fawad has not been rewarded for his domestic performances with a proper run in Tests.

Fawad averages 56 since his last Test match with 26 hundreds. Nobody else matches up to that level of consistency.

[Manager101]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt are tried and tested failures at international level, while Fawad only played 3 Test matches despite having a King FC record.

[Hawkeye]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

Um, they both have failed at the international level. Tried hundreds of times.

One is a convicted fixer too.

What kind of a brain will compare Fawad's selection with those TTFs?

[shah_1]

Fawad is a good example of never giving up, an inspiration for everyone out there

[minamino]

Fawad is a good example of never giving up, an inspiration for everyone out there

Never give up and earn peanuts till you are 35 if you are cricketer because Pakistan won't select them if they are young

[Professor]

Um, they both have failed at the international level. Tried hundreds of times.

One is a convicted fixer too.

What kind of a brain will compare Fawad's selection with those TTFs?

To add to this, Akmal and Butt average around 40 in FC cricket While Fawad's average is over 55.

[Manager101]

Never give up and earn peanuts till you are 35 if you are cricketer because Pakistan won't select them if they are young

What are you on about ?

Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Usman Shinwari are young and playing Tests.

[Hawkeye]

Never give up and earn peanuts till you are 35 if you are cricketer because Pakistan won't select them if they are young

You really are in a mood to get schooled and trolled by everyone.

Pakistan probably has the youngest Test cricket team as of now. Nobody has as many teenagers as us.

[Hawkeye]

What are you on about ?

Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam and Usman Shinwari are young and playing Tests.

Yup. We're probably the youngest on average age.

[Shaka81]

Salman Butt led his side to QEA finals twice in the last two seasons and also scoring centuries in the final whereas Fawad Alam always scores soft runs with no value at all.

What tournaments are you talking about? The final for this season hasn't been played yet and he didn't play in the QEA final in 2018/19 season. He did play the season before and failed miserably scoring 24 and 4 in his two innings. He just plays in stronger teams than Fawad. He has very little to do with his team winning. He's just a corrupt individual who deserves never to play for Pakistan again on form or character!

[topspin]

The uncomfortable truth for OP (and his fellow cheerleaders) is to acknowledge that Pakistan Test Cricket would have been in a better place if Fawad had replaced Misbah from 2013, following the embarrassing tour of Zimbabwe.

[topspin]

Congratulations, you have just shown why a 29 year old Fawad Alam should have replaced Misbah in the team two years before Misbah retired.

I would say it should have happen 2 years earlier than that (in 2013) after the Zimbabwe tour.

[SensiblePakFan]

Chief selector and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said: “I want to congratulate Fawad Alam on his selection for the Sri Lanka Tests. It is a reward for his continued hard work, perseverance and dedication to the game. His selection is not only a lesson to the emerging cricketers but also a testament of the selectors’ policy of valuing domestic cricket and rewarding consistent performers."

Reward 4 years late

[SensiblePakFan]

But he's in his 30s and shouldn't be selected. Shameful selection! Some PPers are having a meltdown and are not brave enough to appreciate this step.

Do you not understand age is good in tests, there is the indian team only has 2 players under 30 for gods sake jezus

[minamino]

Do you not understand age is good in tests, there is the indian team only has 2 players under 30 for gods sake jezus

Most of the Indian players are in the early 30s and all of them made their debuts when they were younger and now that's why India is such a formidable unit but in Pakistan, you have players making debut and comebacks at 35. The weakest link in the Indian team is Saha and who is by far the weakest link in the team

[Shaka81]

I guess someone forgot to tell Australia that recalling and giving debuts to over 30s is "shameful" and shouldn't happen. What were they thinking when they decided to call up Mike Hussey and Chris Rogers when they were clearly passed it.... God knows how they managed to score any runs as over 30 cricketing "pensioners"!

[Pete Rose]

Fawad Alam will do well at home and provide comic relief in England

[MRSN]

Fawad Alam will do well at home and provide comic relief in England

which means Pak will keep struggling to find reliable batsmen abroad.

[Manager101]

Fawad Alam will do well at home and provide comic relief in England

As if our other well settled batsmen have been masterful in overseas conditions, right ?

[Pete Rose]

As if our other well settled batsmen have been masterful in overseas conditions, right ?

That’s true, but this time we will get a chance to laugh as well.

[moghul]

I'm not a big fan of Fawad Alam's batting due to his ridiculous stance and technique but solute to him for the temperament he has shown over the years. Has been piling up runs in every game he has played and selectors after selectors have been ignoring him without any clear explanation but a great credit goes to Fawad as he has never shown any frustration any never said any thing in anger, which would have been very hard for him. In this perspective, he is a role model for other cricketers. Good luck to him, hope he will prove his point by scoring big in tests.

[Slog]

The question isn't whether Fawad will have a successful comeback and makes big runs.


The question is why wasn't he recalled 5-6 year earlier when he should deservedly have been given a chance in the longer format.

Who will answer for those lost years?

[Slog]

Fawad Alam will do well at home and provide comic relief in England

so he would still be outperforming other batsmen if this is true.

[Mercurial]

You seem to back almost every decision Misbah takes, even if it requires to take U-TURNs on your previous stances

[Bewal Express]

Deserves his chance but I am not convinced about his technique. Let's see how it goes.

[jnaveen1980]

Despite not many tests, he will be considered as a senior. That is the downside of entering late in your career. You will have no comebacks. You just have to maintain your form. It is a bit like Ishant recently said something along the lines "one bad performance can end my career". He won't have too many chances. He will have to make it count.

[Pete Rose]

so he would still be outperforming other batsmen if this is true.

Yes, he will fit in to the Pakistan team ethos of lions at home and clowns abroad. But this time the latter part will be literal

[Fahdi]

In other words if Fawad wasn't selected it would've made a mockery of the concept of merit.

Should've been selected two years ago.

He should never have been dropped from Test cricket, it was a huge injustice.

Bringing him in now though is a questionable decision. He'll most likely do well in the sub continent, he may do decently in England as well been but he has only a couple of years to offer. No proper team will bring in a 34 year old to establish himself at test level because because in a couple of years he will be at an age when most international cricketers start retiring or start getting phased out of the team. Fawad's selection is the very embodiment of desperate measures being taken in desperate times.

[HappyWarsFan]

Really hope he plays. Will be annoyed if he doesn't.

[shariqnoor]

99% convinced Fawad will flop badly in the SL series because he probably won't be able to cope up with the pressure as all eyes will be on him.

Having said that, even if he flops, Misbah now needs to back his selection and give him a run in the team for atleast 1 year. Can't just chuck him out now for 1 or 2 bad series.

[coy0607]

I don't think Fawad doing well will surprise anyone - most people expect him to have a good series, we know he's capable

[Mirpur express]

What people forget to notice is that he scored runs on bowler friendly wickets in Pakistan for the last few years very consistently..you just have to look at some of the stats of these very average bowlers to realise they had these green tops everywhere & the only guys to score runs consistently were either stubborn players (Fawad) or attacking (Kamran Akmal) guys , if Misbah is gutsy then he must get rid of Azhar & Shafiq now

[Hawkeye]

Yes, he will fit in to the Pakistan team ethos of lions at home and clowns abroad. But this time the latter part will be literal

Cool. Same as Warner. Admired worldwide, despite failing overseas.

Don't act innocent, you too support many such players. Only the likes of Kohli, Babar, Kane have great away tours.

[Pete Rose]

Cool. Same as Warner. Admired worldwide, despite failing overseas.

Don't act innocent, you too support many such players. Only the likes of Kohli, Babar, Kane have great away tours.

The difference being I would say that about fawad regardless of who coaches.
I don’t fault his selection, but I hope we can put an end to this by the end of the England tour. I am perfectly comfortable with this being thrown in my face should he go on to make big runs in England

[aloo paratha]

Hope Fawad scores big runs, and rubs it in previous selectors faces.

[MRSN]

Cool. Same as Warner. Admired worldwide, despite failing overseas.

Don't act innocent, you too support many such players. Only the likes of Kohli, Babar, Kane have great away tours.

Warner has runs abroad or has the capability and is a natural stroke maker needed as an opener. Fawad Alam is different. He has no pull shot with that technique and is always playing away from the body on the off side. Then he will be challenged with short pitch bowling. On Pakistani pitches ball does not rise much as well as we lack bowling resources as we have seen evident from Aus series where our top bowlers were likes of Abbas and Imran. I checked top bowlers this fc and I found the likes of Tabish, Sohail Khan, Anwar Ali type bowlers leading the chart. None of them is a quality bowler. If they really were we wouldn't be seeing Ifti chacha struggling against Aussies on almost glat pitches because he got selected after performing in domestic cricket.

[MoJoJoJo]

i am more worried than happy with his inclusion. He is a good batter no doubt, but he'll be under immense pressure coz of the hype created by the fans and media. I wont be surprised if he crumble under pressure and fail to do anything of note in this series and then will be discarded again..

[gazza619]

This series will show why he was ignored. His technique is not good enough against half a decent pace attack.

He cant do worse than the current lot who are supposedly technically perfect

[Saj]

Good series to make a comeback.

Home pitches.
Home crowd.
Oppostion attack which isn't too strong.

[Hasan123]

I don't trust his technique. He declined in recent seasons as well. At 34 he is no long term solution. He maybe able to do something in Asia but he will be exposed outside of Asia.

[TeamPak95]

Should have been in the test side at least 4 years ago. At this point, whether or not Pakistan make the WTC final (which I highly doubt), I predict Fawad can rack up the runs in this cycle at best. I'll be surprised if he can maintain it for 2 cycles.

[SarfiBabarHaris]

We wouldn't have seen this thread if he was selected by anyone else. In fact it would have been the total opposite.

Two face people are not rare

If anyone in this entire universe apart from Misbah had selected Fawad he would have been taken to the cleaners and there would have been dozen posts how the legendary poster was right!

[coy0607]

Most of the Indian players are in the early 30s and all of them made their debuts when they were younger and now that's why India is such a formidable unit but in Pakistan, you have players making debut and comebacks at 35. The weakest link in the Indian team is Saha and who is by far the weakest link in the team

Misbah selects just like he batted, at an extreme. It was either block, block, block or 6, 6, 6

Now you have to either be a teenager or a grandpa to be eligible for selection

[FreePalestine]

Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt have been performing as well for years. Why don't they get selected?

Kamran Akmal dropped a gazillion catches, at crucial moments, cost us multiple important games. Butt, there is no vacancy (and no strong desire) at the top of the order. Imam, Abid, Fakhar, Masood have been occupying those spots ahead of him so far and I am ok with that. Anyway, I think the nation still hasn’t forgiven him.

[Titan24]

Most of the Indian players are in the early 30s and all of them made their debuts when they were younger and now that's why India is such a formidable unit but in Pakistan, you have players making debut and comebacks at 35. The weakest link in the Indian team is Saha and who is by far the weakest link in the team

Dinesh Karthik made a comeback at around 33 years of age and after 8 years lf his last test while Nehra was around mid 30s when he made a comeback for T20 WC while Jadhav debuted pretty at 30 years of age. These are just to give few examples.

[MenInG]

To be honest, the pressure to perform will be huge and real test of his character.

[Asif khan]

So Misbah who was always consulted as a captain never asked for his selection selects him when he's near mid-thirties...way to go Misbah!

[ZamanFan]

This series will show why he was ignored. His technique is not good enough against half a decent pace attack.

To be honest, Fawad Alam was dropped in 2014 by the PCB mafia to help parasite Shoaib Malik make comeback into the national side. And captain was the joker Azhar Ali who hiself was kept but the dagger kept fallinon others who were blamed for his lacklustre and demoralizing captaincy.

Alam was averaging 42 in ODIs and 40 in Tests. He was removed from test side after NZ tour to make way for Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal in 2009.

PCB mafia made by undemocratic adhoc setup and strengthened in Zaka Ashraf and Sethi era ensured Alam never plays for Pakistan again.

This is not surprising, it happened to Qasim Umar, Saleem Yousuf, Asif Mujtaba, and Asim Kamal.

Pakistan team was so strong in 1986 probably the best batting side ever. It chased 273 against Australia in Australia at taht time when it was like 300+ of that era. After that Imran Khan started favoritism and result was we lost talent like Qasim Umar and Saleem Yousuf.

Asif Mujtaba was another man of the crisis who used to bat in lower order. He single-handedly chased 220 target against Australia in 1992.
Wasim, Inzamam and then Haroon Rasheed did the same to many players, with encouragement from a disinterested and weak chairmen esp. Shahryar Khan the terrible.

Faisal Athar (Hyderabad), Aamir Bashir(Multan;died in 2008), so many deserving performers were lost thanks to these mafias' biases.

[Mamoon]

I have little love for Fawad, but he is extremely unfortunate to miss out on this Test because of the arrogance of Misbah.

He is making a comeback in Test cricket after 10 years and you deprive him of the opportunity to play in his home ground, especially when Haris cannot hold a bat at the moment.

The less said about puppet Azhar the better. He has as much of a say in the team selection as I do.

Everyone knew that Misbah does not have the caliber to do just justice to this dual selector/coach role, but what has surprised me is his arrogance especially in the pressers.

He never gives a straight answer. After the humiliation against Sri Lanka in the T20s, he moaned that he didn’t make the right handed batsmen play left handed and vice versa.

When he was questioned on his team selection the other day, he stated that he would request Sri Lanka to allow him to play 15 players.

He has been cranky and sarcastic. A far cry from the “gentleman” image that he conjured over the years.

He has been given too much power by the spectacularly incompetent Wasim Khan and his head is in the clouds these days. He is basically a dictator intoxicated with power.

[Sir-fraz]

This is what happens when you put a no body on a pedestal. There is a punjabi saying. " thore vich bohtaa pa gaya".

It captures misbah perfectly. An avg batsman who had an above avg career.

Now he has become arrogant, he thinks we need him when the reality is that no one needs his low cricket iq.

This same guy hampered pakistan cricket for a decade. He brought in a losers mentality, instilled that into the players and now we a reaping the "benefits" lol

Now all he can do is divert peoples attention from the subject at hand.

Less said about azhar the better, he is the definition of a BETA male. He doesnt dominate, he likes to be dominated.

Misbah was never a gentleman, the media has created this image. He was always a cranky old man. Hes just showing his true COLORS.

[uberkoen]

I, for one, am definitely surprised. Not sure about everyone else

[nap229]

Are u telling me fawad can't get into this team?
Where is the logic? That is why Pakistan cricket is where it is at right now..

[JibranAnsari]

So another 6 months gone for him. What a sad story.

So basically anyone but fawad alam.

[ARK Rafay]

I hope Misbah, Wasim and other management stay for 2 more years. It's not a good sight if you give a chance to a performer. Only way forward is to have likeness, dislikeness, and TTFs.

[Slog]

I think Fawad Alam should sue the PCB for lost earnings from the past 10 yesrs

[Ajjerz]

Fawad has definitely been unlucky but no batsman ( apart from shan) was realistically going to be dropped from this test. Also even tho Haaris maybe out of form he has done well in the UAE so it would be expected he would do well in Pakistan too.

[Bullet Drive]

Genius Misbah.

Worst at talent management.

[coy0607]

Fawad has definitely been unlucky but no batsman ( apart from shan) was realistically going to be dropped from this test. Also even tho Haaris maybe out of form he has done well in the UAE so it would be expected he would do well in Pakistan too.

I agree, there was no obvious batsmen to drop, but this is where good coaches step up and take risks - you need to take risks if a #8 ranked team is going to upset a higher ranked team.

Fawad's fantastic form and the poor run Haris has had would have warranted such a risk. Like you said, Shan is probably an even more obvious candidate