“He could not perform” – Pakistan selector on Fawad Alam’s exclusion from Test series vs England

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chief Selector Muhammad Wasim has finally broken his silence on middle-order batter Fawad Alam’s absence from the Pakistan squad for the upcoming Test series vs England in December.

Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, Wasim said:

“He could not perform well in the previous three series, which is why we selected Saud Shakeel.”

The response comes after former player Shahid Afridi opposed the idea of dropping the batter. Speaking to Samaa TV, he said:

“Alam is a cricketer who should be in the larger squad.”

For the uninitiated, Fawad only scored 33 runs in a couple of Tests against Australia at home. He followed it up with 25 runs in a solitary appearance against Sri Lanka. Meanwhile, he has scored 550 runs in 10 matches for Sindh in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

Wasim, however, called Fawad a fighter and wants him to make a comeback in the Test setup soon. He said:

“Fawad Alam is a fighter. He displayed good performance after making a comeback on the national side after a long time.”

Fawad Alam, who made his Test debut in 2009, has been in and out of the Pakistan side throughout his Test career. The 37-year-old had a breakthrough year in 2021, where he amassed 571 runs in 13 innings at an average of 49.7, including three tons and two half-centuries.

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Who is Saud Shakeel, Fawad Alam’s replacement for the Test series vs England?

Another Sindh batter, Saud Shakeel, has been named Fawad Alam’s replacement in the Test series against England. The 27-year-old has scored 4,193 runs in 57 First-Class games, averaging 52.41. He has also amassed 2,480 runs in 75 List-A matches at a decent average of 45.09.

Pakistan will play a three-match Test series against England, starting in Rawalpindi on December 1. The action will then shift to Multan (December 9-13) and Karachi (December 17-21) for the remaining two Tests.

The Men in Green last hosted England in a Test series in 2005, which they won 2-0. Pakistan and England are currently placed fifth and seventh, respectively, in the current World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

Pakistan squad for the England Tests: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.