Why Karachi-born Sarfaraz Ahmed didn't pick Fawad Alam when he was Test captain: Shoaib Akhtar

Pakistan recently beat South Africa in the first Test in Karachi. At one point in the match, everyone thought that Pakistan would face a heavy defeat in this match after they were 27 for 4. But, Fawad Alam came to the rescue and scored a magnificent hundred. His knock only assured Pakistan had a lead in the first innings, but also laid the perfect foundation. 

In his recent Youtube video, former Pakistan fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar questioned once again why Fawad Alam was not picked in the Test side for a number of years. The left-handed batsman made his debut in 2009 and scored a century on debut. But, after that, he didn’t play for the next 11 years. While he was out of the international side, he was scoring runs heavily in domestic cricket but was still not getting picked. 

Akhtar pointed out that Inzamam-ul-Haq and Misbah-ul-Haq, who served as the chief selector and captain respectively, might not have picked the batsman as they were not Karachi-born players. He further questioned if that was the case why didn’t Sarfaraz Ahmed pick him up when he was the Test captain, who was a Karachi-born cricketer. 

Don’t put the entire blame on Misbah and Inzamam: Shoaib Akhtar

“There is a debate going on that Punjabis kept Fawad Alam out of the [national] team. Misbah was captain for five years and Inzamam was the chief selector, so they kept him out, which is correct. But Sarfaraz, who belongs to Karachi, was also the captain for three years. Why didn’t he select him? Think about that as well. Don’t put the entire blame on Misbah [and Inzamam],” said Akhtar on his Youtube channel. 

Fawad Alam was one of the most prolific run-getters for his domestic sides during the time he was out of the side. But, he was ignored by selectors constantly until 2020. Since his comeback, the player has scored two centuries. Akhtar talked about Alam’s determination and praised it. 

“There was grave injustice done with Fawad and everyone has to accept it. Fawad performed when he played. He has three centuries in eight Test matches. He brought Pakistan back in the game with his determination,” Akhtar added.