Fawad Alam calls time on Pakistan career for 'local' MLC stint

Pakistan middle-order batter Fawad Alam called time on his international career and is now set to ply his trade in the Minor League Cricket in the USA. Notably, the out-of-favour batter will turn up as the ‘local’ player for Chicago Kingsmen in the competition that underpins the recently concluded Major League Cricket (MLC).

Alam made his debut in international cricket in 2007 during an ODI match against Sri Lanka. Since then, he has featured in 38 ODIs, 24 T20Is, and 19 Tests and accumulated 966, 194, and 1011 runs, respectively, in international cricket for Pakistan. His career with the national team also includes six fifties and one ton in the ODIs, coupled with two fifties and five centuries in the red-ball format.

With the lack of opportunities and the need for a change in the setup by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the southpaw failed to get his chances and was mostly confined to the sidelines. He last donned the outfit of the national team in the second Test match against Sri Lanka in 2022.

Alam could only manage to get paltry scores of 24 and one run, respectively, across two innings in his final Test match. It is worth mentioning that Alam is not the only Pakistan cricketer to move his base to the USA as Sami Aslam, Hammad Azam, Saif Badar, and Mohammad Mohsin too have joined the Minor League Cricket.

Speaking about the Minor League Cricket, Alam’s team Chicago Kingsmen are a part of the Central Division, which also includes cross-town rivals Chicago Tigers—the 2023 season of the competition kickstarted on August 5, with as many as 150 matches set to take place over the span of seven weeks. 

The league will feature 26 teams playing at 17 venues, including 19 matches set to take place at Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas. Seattle Thunderbolts are the defending champions as they beat Atlanta Fire in the summit clash of the event in 2022.