Re: 2nd Test: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Dubai, January 8-12, 2014
some people have been whining for 60 years. Fact is fawad alam was given a chance. He couldnt play likes of shane bond and was considered a scooter meant for dead pitches. Another memory of his includes him not being able to accelerate. He also isnt an opener where we have tried likes of butt, hafeez, farhat and many others. Since asad, azhar ali etc have not worked out either maybe he gets another try. I really hope my assessment is wrong for his sake and Pakistans.
Do not try to justify and talk BS when fact for not inclusion is discrimination and nepotism. Difference between your post and what I wrote is that, I am not writing from back-side, rather my posts is full of quoted figures that do not lie and is available for anyone to check.
As for your posts full of concocted lies, I do not know where your opinion is coming from. Fawad is not opener, but he is the only Pakistani batsman who made test century in his debut match outside Pakistan as opener and that also in second inning under pressure. But then, even down the order, Pakistan is full of third class players continuously playing test cricket for Pakistan with average below 35. How can you say that Fawad couldn't play against Shane bond, when he was not even given chance to play other than 3 test matches ... but then his average shows that he plays fast bowlers much better than most Pakistani batsman, as Pakistan has 10s of fast bowlers in domestic cricket as good as Shane Bond.
What can one say. It seems some people are doing as well as justifying Tasub (nepotism and bigotry) since 1947 in all fields, because they like it, as they do not want to work hard or compete on merit.
Anyhow, if other players who are playing test cricket for Pakistan are so good then why they Sht-out with low scores in test as well as first class matches? Have any answer?
As I mentioned, no present Pakistani players except Misbah and Yunus have average above 40 in test matches still they play test for Pakistan years after years, but Fawad was only given 3 matches and in those 3 matches his average is above 40, and he also has century.
But as I said, we are talking about Pakistan where hard work and merit means nothing.
Look at the story of Ramaiz Raja and Shoaib Mohammad. Both started cricket similar time and both were openers. Actually, with good world class opening batsman like Shoaib in team, there was no place for third class batsman like Ramaiz. But, Ramaiz was preferred over Shoaib most of the time (as can be seen from their test records), not on merit but because of discrimination and nepotism, else here is test record of both:
[TABLE]
Debut
Match
Inning
NO
Runs
HS
Average
100s
50s
Inns
/Century
Shoaib Mohammad
Sept 1983
45
68
7
2705
203*
44.34
7
13
9.7
Ramaiz Raja
March 1984
57
94
5
2833
122
31.83
2
22
47
Only Blind can give chance to a Batsman in test whose average is below 32 and takes 47 innings for a century … especially when another batsman is available that has average 44.34 and takes less than 10 innings for a century.
If Shoaib was not Hanif Muhammad son, he would have had even less chances than 45 matches he got. But then I have to check who was discriminating most, as the time Shoaib was playing cricket, Pakistani captain was Imran Khan most of the time, occasionally Miandad, for a while Zaheer Abbas, and few matches Wasim Akram.
If merit would have been criteria than a player with test average in mid 40 and takes less than 10 innings for century should be in team (as that is criteria of world class test batsman). No batsman whose average is below 40 can justify extended place in test cricket as batsman ... other than starters with first class average above 40 ... and played less than 10 test matches (almost all Pakistani test players have test average below 40 (except 2), still they are getting extended test chances, while better batsmen are left behind).
Fawad Alam is no exception. Many in Pakistan got discriminated due to bigotry and nepotism. For instance, Taslim Arif and Aftab Baloch.
Taslim Arif made his Pakistan debut as an opener batsman (but because he could have kept wicket, he was given extra duty to keep wicket). In debut match, he made 90 and 46 against India at Calcutta (1979-1980). In his third Test, Taslim made 210 not out against Australia, the highest score by a wicket keeper in a Test (record stayed for 20 years). Record was broken by Andy Flower who made 232 not out in 2000-01. Still, Taslim Arif was given total 6 test matches to play. Is that justice or discrimination?
[TABLE]
Tasleem Arif
Jan 1980
6
10
2
501
210*
62.62
1
2
Aftab baloch only got 2 Matches when he had second highest first class score in Pakistan, 428 runs, that was at the time 7th highest in the world (highest first class score at the time was of Hanif Mohammed 499 runs, later broken by Lara 501).
Aftab Baluch
2 test match
Nov 69
and then in
Feb 75
2
3
1
97
60*
48.50
0
1
Scored 428 in FC cricket