Wasim questions Fawad’s exclusion from England, Ireland tours

Questioning Fawad Alam’s exclusion from the squad, Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has said that the exclusion of middle-order batsman for England and Ireland series is 'beyond comprehension'.

"Players play domestic circuit in view of getting an opportunity to play international cricket. I can’t understand why Fawad is not getting an opportunity. He is still out from the squad despite scoring runs in domestic on an average of 50 in the last three-four years. It's beyond me," the legendary pacer said.

Fawad, 32, has so far scored 10,742 runs in 145 first-class matches at an impressive average of 55.37. However, despite his consistency in the domestic circuit he was not picked by the selectors for Ireland and England tours.

It appears that the chief selector Inzamam ul Haq preferred his nephew Imam ul Haq over him in the test squad. Fawad is a middle-order batsman and Imam is a specialist opener of T20 and ODI format. According to critics, Imam’s inclusion looks superfluous in presence of the three openers in the test squad.

Fawad was among the fittest cricketers in the fitness tests camp held at the National Cricket Academy for the cricketers ahead of the selection committee meeting.

Backing Head Coach Mickey Arthur, Akram said that the coach is focused to give the opportunity to young players but where should a senior batsman go who is consistently scoring runs.

He predicted that the Pakistani team will get tough competition against both the home sides.

Responding to a question, Akram lauded the inclusion of opener Fakhar Zaman in the test squad. "Its good to have Zaman. He puts pressure on the opponents like Warner and Sehwag," he said.