Pakistan makes the trip to Southampton after the debacle at Old Trafford and the team management may consider Fawad Alam in middle-order who is waiting to make a comeback in International Cricket since 2009. Pakistan will have to go with two spinners or a proper batsman as the batting unit collapsed in the last Test match. The tourists might call Fawad Alam in place of Shadab Khan to go with only one spinner Yasir Shah.
Fawad Alam is looking for the opportunity after crossing record 12000 runs in first-class cricket last year and the 35-years old player was included in the home series against Sri Lanka but didn’t get a game. After playing the last test in 2009, Alam was in incredible touch with the bat in the domestic circuit.
Pakistan is also worried about the ongoing form of Azhar Ali who had an average of 26.06 since the start of 2018 and has scored only two Hundred in 31 Test innings. In away matches, he has been so poor scoring one half-century in 18 innings at an average of 11.77.
Nobody talks about Asad Shafiq who also had weak numbers overseas. The top-order batsman has averaged 28.28 in the last two years in away Tests and appeared in Pakistan’s seven straight overseas defeats.
In Manchester, 2nd innings was a complete let down by Pakistan’s bowling unit and in first innings, it was Shan Masood who carried Pakistan’s hopes to score around 50% runs of the total.
In Australia, Pakistan lost both Test matches with a margin of an innings. Pakistan’s bowling attack has been impactful during this period and picking Fawad in the batting unit might be an expected call from skipper Azhar Ali on the toss time.
He waited and performed, forth and through. He is yet to get his name on the final sheet. The Pakistan team's promising batsman is waiting with his fingers crossed as there is still a possibility that his name might pop up in the final XI for the Southampton Test. It will put a big question mark on the credibility of the Pakistan team management body if the domestic star will be left sitting on the bench, watching yet another chance blowing up.
