5 Pakistani players who had a great first-class career but failed to shine in Tests

#3 Faisal Iqbal

Iqbal failed to fire on a steady basis in Tests

Faisal Iqbal, the nephew of the enigmatic Javed Miandad, represented Pakistan in 26 Tests. While he was always considered to be a quality batsman on the basis of his first-class records – he amassed over 12000 runs at an average of over 40 in 213 matches – his Test numbers of 1124 runs in 26 matches at an average of just 26.76 tell a totally different story.

In the first Test against Australia at Colombo in 2003/04, Iqbal produced an aggressive counter-attacking 83 off 84 balls that silenced his critics. However, he failed to produce anything notable in the rest of the series and the following series against South Africa.

After a lean patch with the bat, a superb maiden Test century against India at Karachi revived his career as it helped Pakistan win the 2005/06 series. A couple of gritty fifties followed in the next couple of matches but his form remained erratic and soon began to deteriorate. He failed to produce anything notable with the bat in the following matches and was finally dropped after a prolonged period of poor form.