Younis Khan: “I firmly believe that whenever he gets a chance, he will perform because he is a player who has performed so much and given sacrifice”
Image courtesy of: Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan batting coach Younis Khan firmly believes that if veteran batsman Fawad Alam gets the opportunity to make his Test comeback during the England series, he “will perform because he is a player who has performed so much and given sacrifice”.
Fawad, who last played Test cricket in November 2009, was part of Pakistan’s squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka and first Test against Bangladesh, but didn’t feature in any of those matches.
Many people have called for Fawad to feature in the three-Test series against England, especially after his impressive performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where he accumulated 781 runs in 10 matches for Sindh, which included four centuries and two fifties, at an average of 71.
“Fawad Alam has big performances and when we talk about the domestic structure, he has been a top performer which is why he’s here,” Younis was quoted as saying by PakPassion. “Whenever I spoke to him during the last few years, I always told him that if it’s in his destiny and he’s performing and fit, he will get a chance and now he’s in the squad.
“I firmly believe that whenever he gets a chance, he will perform because he is a player who has performed so much and given sacrifice.
“It’s difficult for a player to keep performing in domestic cricket year after year. Motivating oneself becomes difficult. So I am giving him motivation to continue with his work ethic and if Allah has written performances in his destiny then it will happen.
“When I played cricket, I didn’t have some skills and I had a few things missing but with my hard work, I saw my destiny changing. So I am certain that Fawad Alam will perform whenever he gets the chance.”
The Pakistan team is currently in Derby, but will travel to Manchester on August 1 prior to the start of the Test series.
Pakistan are scheduled to play three Tests and three T20 Internationals against England, with the first Test starting on August 5 in Manchester and the T20 series beginning on August 28 at the same venue.
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