Pakistan Cricket News: Why Fawad Alam is highly unlikely to play Manchester Test?

The left-handed batsman Fawad Alam, who averages 56.84 in 165 First-Class matches, is a part of the 29-men squad sent by PCB for the tour of England.

The three-match Test series between Pakistan and England will commence on August 5 at Manchester.

Fawad Alam is eyed to be the successor of the middle-order batting marvels from Pakistan, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan.

Pakistani Cricketer Fawad Alam: The social media’s center of attraction

Fawad Alam always remained a part of the long lasting social media campaigns demanding PCB for his selection in the Test side.

The cricket pundits feel Fawad Alam is neglected by chief selectors despite scoring tremendous amount of runs with great average in First-Class cricket.

Pakistan Cricket Board finally paid heed to the social media protests and selected Fawad Alam for the Test series against Sri Lanka.

However, he was not even given a single chance in the playing XI by the selectors for the Test matches against Sri Lanka.

The chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has selected Fawad Alam again for the overseas tour of England.

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Performance of Fawad Alam: The story of dismay in the practice games

The intra-squad practice games were scheduled to evaluate the performances of players who are a part of the 29-men squad.

The players have been provided a full chance in the practice game held at Worcester and Derby to form a suitable playing XI for the first Test match against England.

Fawad Alam turned out to be unimpressive in the practice matches organised by the cricket board between PCB Green and PCB White.

Fawad batted three innings, scored 37, 24 and 3 respectively, averaging only 21.333 in the intra-squad practice games. One of the other competitors of Fawad Alam in the playing XI is Iftikhar Ahmad who has scored 84 and 31 in the innings he has batted up till now.

Iftikhar Ahmad also provides a bowling option to the side with his batting attributes and could be observed by selectors as a considerable fit in the playing XI.

The ‘fierce competition’ for the number six position

There’s a tight competition in the Pakistan’s Test playing XI as different players are competing each other on a single spot.

For instance, the position of a spin bowler in the eleven is eyed by Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah.

The player for the number six position is the toughest for the selectors to choose from because three players Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam and Iftikhar Ahmad are battling for that position.

As Haider Ali scored runs (51 runs) in a practice match, he might also join the competition for the number six spot in the Test playing eleven.

Conclusion:

The biggest question is, should a few practice games serve as a criteria for the selection in the squad?

Why only three practice games in England could become a hurdle in his path? Why only three innings could stand against his marvellous stint in First-Class cricket (12,222 RUNS, 56.84 BATTING AVERAGE and 34 HUNDREDS) ?

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