Azhar Ali: “He is currently part of our team and whenever he gets an opportunity, I am sure he will make it count and perform”
Image courtesy of: Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali has confirmed that batsman Fawad Alam is “currently part of our team”, but stopped short of saying whether he will get the opportunity to make his comeback during the upcoming tour of England.
Pakistan are expected to take around 25 players for the tour, which is set to consist of three Tests and three T20 Internationals.
Recent reports said that the tour is all set to go ahead, but the start date of the Test series will be pushed back from July 30 to August 5.
While Fawad, who last played Test cricket in November 2009, could be included in Pakistan’s team for the England series, it remains to be seen if he will actually play any of the Tests.
“Fawad Alam is a determined player. He is an example for youngsters. Despite being out of the team for so long, he continued his hard work and eventually made his way back into the team,” Azhar was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan. “He is currently part of our team and whenever he gets an opportunity, I am sure he will make it count and perform.
“I try to maintain consistency in selection. I prefer making a change only when a player is not feeling confident or is completely out of form. I don’t want to chop and change too much in the playing XI, so we tried to play with the same line-up in the last two series.”
Fawad, who didn’t receive a central contract for the 2020-2021 season, was included in Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in December, but didn’t feature in both matches.
He was also included in Pakistan’s team for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in February, but once again missed out on being picked in the playing XI.
The 34-year-old was in superb form in the most recent season of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he scored 781 runs in 10 matches for Sindh, which includes four centuries and two fifties, at an average of 71.
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