Yasir Arafat: “Kamran Ghulam always kept his head down and never went to the media or complained on social media, even though he had a lot of support from fans saying he deserved to be in the team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat has lauded middle order batsman Kamran Ghulam for never complaining once when he continuously kept being ignored by the national selectors.
Ghulam was eventually rewarded for his consistent performances in domestic cricket as he played in the recent three-Test series against England.
Making his debut in the second Test, where he replaced Babar Azam in the playing XI, the 29-year-old had an instant impact as he struck a sensational 118, which came off 224 balls and included 11 boundaries and a six.
Overall, he ended the series with 147 runs at an average of 49.
Arafat admitted he was really impressed that Ghulam didn’t let the pressure get to him and simply did what he has done for numerous years – make big scores.
“Kamran Ghulam always kept his head down and never went to the media or complained on social media, even though he had a lot of support from fans saying he deserved to be in the team. And the way he made his debut deserves praise. Despite the heavy criticism, especially because he replaced a big player and came in at Babar’s batting position, he didn’t let it affect him. He played a match-winning innings, proved himself to the world, and brought Pakistan to a position where they won the match,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Ghulam is now featuring in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia, which consists of three ODIs and three T20Is.
In the ODI series, he only batted once and scored 12 runs, but Pakistan still ended up winning 2-1.
As for the T20I series, Australia hold an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the third match, which will be held on November 18 in Hobart.
Once their tour of Australia finishes, Pakistan will travel to Zimbabwe to play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan
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