Will Pakistan Cricket Board Make another Mistake Like FAWAD ALAM?

 SAJ SADIQ: The treatment of the talented batsman has been a mystery even to Pakistani fans and followers, who over the years have been accustomed to controversy and chaos when it comes to selection policies

Fawad Alam’s Test career started all the way back in July 2009 in Colombo when in Pakistan’s second innings he scored an assured 168 at the top of the order out of a team total of 320.

Fawad’s illustrious team-mates that day in Sri Lanka included Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Misbah-ul-Haq, but it was the Karachi-born left-hander who caught the eye.

It wasn’t enough to save Pakistan from a seven-wicket defeat, but the general consensus was that Pakistan had unearthed a gem, a gritty and determined batsman who would serve them very well and for many years to come.

In possession of a slight frame with an unorthodox batting stance, Fawad was seen as a versatile top-order batsman who could shore up an inconsistent line-up and provide flexibility. Effective against pace, able to manoeuvre the ball around, a wonderful player of spin, a good runner between the wickets and a batsman with a lot of patience, Fawad should have been a Pakistan Test captain’s dream.

But what has ensued has been a mystery even to Pakistani fans and followers, who over the years have been accustomed to controversy and chaos when it comes to selection policies.

Selection committee after selection committee ignored Fawad despite his dominance in season after season of domestic cricket. Fawad’s brilliant first-class numbers year after year weren’t viewed as good enough to earn him a recall, despite the selectors crying out for batting talent and stating that domestic performances would be the criteria for national selection.

Much to the annoyance of many, former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, when asked why Fawad was being ignored, stated that “we have better players than him in our ranks, so we don’t need him”.

Fawad Alam made his third Test century this week

While selectors ignored him, Fawad’s behaviour and conduct was impeccable. He put his head down and got on with his job which was to score runs. When asked why he wasn’t being picked, Fawad calmly stated that when the Almighty wants me to be picked for my country it will happen and that he wasn’t taking anything personally.

Many would have spat the dummy out, retired or started a war of words with those who were ignoring him, but Fawad chose to let his bat do the talking. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, Fawad continued to pile up the runs, meaning that the selectors eventually had no more excuses left to ignore him. Such was his desire to keep on improving and working on his batting, he played club cricket in the Lancashire League for Clitheroe to ensure that during the Pakistani off-season he was still practising and playing cricket.

Fast-forward 11-and-a-half years, and despite the 168 on debut, Fawad has incredibly only played eight Test matches, which even by Pakistan’s unorthodox selection policies is an absolute travesty. After his first three, he was dropped for nearly 11 years before being recalled for last year’s tour of England, during which he scored 0 and 21 in Southampton.

However, while previous selection committees and head coaches showed little faith in Fawad, the current team management led by Misbah-ul-haq backed him and picked him for the tour of New Zealand where he scored a battling 102 in the first Test coming into bat when the brittle Pakistan batting unit was 37 for 3.

Currently playing in his first Test in Pakistan, in his home city of Karachi, Fawad has once again defied his critics and made a century when his team needed it most. Coming into bat with the score at 27 for 4, Fawad compiled a typical gritty century, attacking when it was needed, displaying patience and excellent technique against the impressive South African pace-bowlers and their wily spinners.

At 35 years of age Fawad would be the first to admit that he’s not in his prime, but he’s looked after himself and has kept his fitness levels very high. When asked at the press conference after his century against South Africa about whether he would forgive those who ignored him for over 10 years in international cricket, he said: “I am not anybody to forgive those who kept me out of the team. Who am I to do that?”.

Fawad spent a long time out of the national side

In true Fawad Alam style, when asked who he blamed for missing 10 years of international cricket, he added: "I have never blamed anybody for the years I lost in international cricket as it was in my destiny that I wouldn’t play. I don’t see it as losing 10 years of my career and don’t concentrate on what I lost, rather I look forward to what I can achieve in future."

While in public, Fawad may well say that missing 10 years of international cricket doesn’t hurt and it was his destiny, inside he will be hurting; he will be heartbroken at not playing for Pakistan during his best years.

The reasons for Fawad not being selected remain a mystery, but it is abundantly clear that the ongoing match against South Africa should not be only his eighth Test. There is a lesson to be learnt here for future Pakistani selection committees.