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Thursday March 28, 2024

Consistent performer Fawad Alam biggest victim of PCB’s selection policies

By ghalib bajwa
February 16, 2020

LAHORE: Performance is the only criteria to select a player for a sports competition throughout the world but the scenario is a bit different in Pakistan. There is a long list of talented players such as Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Nazir, Asim Kamal and Fawad Alam etc who have been wasted due to strange selection methods of Pakistan selectors.

Prolific and consistent performer Fawad Alam is the fresh rather biggest victim of extremely unsporting behavior of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors since long and that too without any solid reason. This kind of injustice from a parent organisation with consistently performing players is enough to make them hurt and ruin their career.

It is not a secret that Fawad Alam has been performing consistently for many seasons but PCB selectors did not bother to consider him during a long period of ten years. Fawad last represented Pakistan in Tests in 2009 and was expected to end his decade-long exile in recent 2-match Test series against Sri Lanka and then Bangladesh but shockingly PCB selectors left him out of playing XI against both the opponents.

It may be noted here that Misbah-led PCB selectors named Fawad in 16-memer national cricket team for both the series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh as a result of immense pressure from media and cricketing quarters but sadly he could not find a place in playing XI against both the opponents so far.

Fawad Alam a top caliber batsman: The top standing of Fawad Alam as a batsman can be gauged from the fact that he is Pakistan’s number one batsman as far as first class average is concerned. Fawad, with a splendid first-class average of 56.84, is placed ahead of greats like Javed Miandad (53.37), Hanif Muhammad (52.32), Zaheer Abbas (51.54), Inzamamul Haq (50.10) and Younis Khan (49.90) in the international first class chart of batsmen with highest batting average.

In his last four innings at National Stadium, Karachi, the 34-year-old batsman has scored 499 runs with a batting average of 124.80 which included a double century, two hundreds and a fifty.

As far as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is concerned, it’s a national cricket department. It’s not the property of any individual and any player, who is performing consistently, has full right to represent national cricket team in international cricket matches without any discrimination.

One fails to understand on which grounds prolific and consistent performer like Fawad Alam was dropped for so long period. PCB high-ups and chief selector Misbah must clarify the reasons behind in-form Fawad's omission for so long period without any reason. The continual omission of Fawad Alam despite top standard and consistent performance in domestic season reflects that there is a biased trend of selection is prevailing in PCB instead of performance.

Strange selections and omissions are not new in Pakistan cricket. It has been a routine matter in Pakistan to select a highly misfit player like Yasir Shah in national ODI squad repeatedly and overlook an in-form and deserving batsman like Fawad Alam from Test team.

Time for Supreme Court to take notice of PCB’s career-destroying attitude with players:

It is right time for Supreme Court to take notice of PCB’s career-destroying attitude with players. Supreme Court must intervene in such a situation and take notice what's going on in PCB affairs. Is there an issue of personal liking or disliking or something else?

It may be noted here that PCB selector did not give Fawad Alam in the playing XI despite extreme pressure from electronic and print media. After such a situation, the apex Supreme Court remains the last and only respectable department where one can knock the door for justice.

Misbah’s questionable role: During his brief period as national chief selector, Misbahul Haq, who himself did not have any notable experience or exposure both as a chief selector or head coach, made several illogical and beyond the merit selections. The selection of pacer Haris Rauf and omission of experienced M Amir for T20 rubber against Bangladesh is enough to gauge his strange criteria of selection.

Misbah selected pacer Haris Rauf on the basis of his remarkable performance in BBL in Australia but strangely omitted the other top performer and recognized match-winner Muhammad Amir despite his glorious performance in Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

As far as Amir is concerned, he has exhibited his match-winning credentials on numerous occasions. Who can forget his world class bowling performances in Pakistan's title triumph in Champions trophy final, World Cup 2019 in England and several other occasions but even the he failed to impress ‘so-called’ chief selector.