Former India cricketer baffled by Fawad, Junaid’s absence from Pakistan team

Jaffer was perplexed to see the duo being ignored despite their track record

PHOTO: AFP

Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer was amazed after Pakistan decided to leave out middle-order batsman Fawad Alam and left-arm pacer Junaid Khan from the squad for upcoming tour of Australia.

According to sources, Pakistan’s head coach-cum-chief selector, Misbahul Haq, had inquired about Alam’s performance and fitness standards from Sindh team’s head coach Azam Khan, but the middle-order batsman failed to make the cut when the final squad was announced.

Junaid was also part of Pakistan’s provisional squad for 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup but was dropped after Men in Green’s miserable performance against England, just before the mega event. Khan posted a picture of himself on Twitter, which was later removed, in which his mouth was taped as a symbol of protest against his exclusion, and has been ignored since then.

While writing on his Twitter account, Jaffer was perplexed to see the duo being ignored despite their track record.

“It amazes me to not see @iamfawadalam25 and @JunaidkhanREAL in Pakistan teams. Fawad Alam averages 56 in first class cricket and Junaid Khan has always done well whenever he got opportunities,” wrote Jaffer.

It amazes me to not see @iamfawadalam25 and @JunaidkhanREAL in Pakistan teams.
Fawad Alam averages 56 in first class cricket and Junaid Khan has always done well whenever he got opportunities.
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 22, 2019

Alam, who is currently representing Sindh in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA), has scored 160 runs in five innings at an average of 40. His exploits with the bat also includes one century.

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The Karachi born, who scored 168 on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2009, last played an international match, which was a One-day International (ODI), for Pakistan in 2015 against Bangladesh in Dhaka.

Pakistan will take on Australia in a two-match Test series, with the first one beginning on November 21 in Brisbane. The second Test of the series, which will be a day-night affair, is schedule to be played from November 29.