‘Luckless’ Fawad clinging on to hope

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Pakistan left-handed batsman Fawad Alam is hopeful that he will get another chance to represent the Men in Green, despite being on the sidelines since 2015.

While talking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview, Alam, who has featured in three Tests, 38 one-day internationals (ODIs) and 24 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Pakistan, admitted that he was disappointment about not getting a chance to represent his country, in the past few years.  

“Cricket is my bread and butter which is why I will continue performing on the field,” said Alam. “Hopefully one day I will once again get a chance to represent Pakistan again.”

Alam also spoke about why he was not picked to play for Pakistan in the recent past, despite having over 11,000 first-class runs at an average of 56.08 over the course of his career.

“I don’t know why I was not picked to play for Pakistan despite my performances in domestic cricket. Even if I did, there are some things, which you and I both know, we can’t talk about openly. Also nobody has ever been able to give me a convincing response on why I was sidelined from the team,”

Despite the departure of previous National Selection Committee Chairman Inzamamul Haq, Alam was not sure about what will happen when the new committee takes charge.

“I don’t know what will happen when the new selection committee takes charge but one thing is for sure that I never lose hope,” he said.

Rumours about Alam being involved in match fixing and an unofficial ban being placed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have been circulating in the cricket circles, but Media Director Samiul Hasan Burney brushed aside any such news.

“I want to make it clear that there is no ban on any player by the PCB,” said Burney when contacted during the interview. “But the matters regarding selection are in the hands of the national selection committee and they will be better equipped to answer that question.”

Alam also spoke about his interaction with Pakistan Head Coach Mickey Arthur, with regards to his selection. 

“A while back, Mickey Arthur called me for a training session, where fitness and other aspects of my game were tested,” he said. “During one of the domestic tournaments, Arthur also messaged me saying that he was ‘keeping a close eye on me’, after my good performances with the bat but nothing materialised.”

The 33-year-old also spoke about Pakistan’s performance during the recently concluded 2019 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup in England and Wales.

“I think our team combination was not right to begin with and we were also reluctant to drop players who were not performing,” he said. “As soon as our combination was right, we started winning and the entire team’s body language and mentality changed.”   

He added: “If we are willing to learn from the mistakes made during the tournament, I’m sure we can improve our performances in the future.”