Inzamam says there are better players than Fawad Alam

LAHORE: Pakistan  chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has finally broke the ice over the omission of left-handed batsman Fawad Alam that led nationwide anger, insisting that he has seen better players in the last three years.

Despite scoring an avalanche of runs in domestic cricket this season, and having a decent first-class average of 55, left-handed batsman Fawad Alam has again been overlooked and passed over for national selection that sparked strong criticism to the criterion of the selection committee that preferred its chief's nephew Imam-ul-Haq over an in-form batsman for the upcoming Tests in Ireland and England.

Admiring the left-hander's outstanding performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy over the past four years as his average has been 40.71, 55.54, 56 and 71.90, Inzamam-ul-Haq, in an interview, said; "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 to prefer Saad was unanimous, with input from all the coaching staff and captain."

Defending the selection committee's decision, chief selector said that Fawad is a good player and they obviously can't ignore his career average, that is why he was brought into the camp. He added; "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."