Former Pakistan captain and renowned cricket commentator Ramiz Raja believes that Fawad Alam deserves to be given a second chance to revive his Test career in the upcoming three-match Test series against England to be played in a bio-secure environment from August 5.
The 34-year-old was recalled to Pakistan squad after 5 years following his impressive domestic performances over the years and fan pressure. Now, Fawad would be certainly eager to have a second crack at Test cricket having last sported whites for Pakistan in 2009.
Ahead of the Test series against England, Raja said the left-hander, who played only three Tests and scored 250 runs, deserves second chance to play Tests for his country since his age is running out. He has also played 38 ODIs and 24 T20 Internationals between 2010 and 2015 for Pakistan.
Ramiz said in a live YouTube session: “I think the way he (Alam) has performed consistently in domestic cricket, he deserves a chance now as age is not on his side.”
He further added, “I think they should play Fawad Alam because he has been waiting in the wings with the team. If they hold on for longer, age might start becoming a factor because your reflexes start to slow down. He should definitely get one chance in this Test series.”
Former Pakistan captain also feels that Pakistan could experiment with three openers in the playing eleven and could play Imam-ul-Haq at number three against England in the upcoming Test series.
He added, “I think they can slot in Imam as an additional opener because in these COVID-19 conditions with bowlers not allowed to use saliva to shine the ball, I think the most important part would be to see off the new ball without damages and that is why I think we can try an additional opener with Abid and Shan.
I think in England my experience is that in Tests role of the openers is very important and if they give a good start there is less pressure on the middle and lower order. If you suffer less damage against the new ball, it is significantly easier for the middle-order to bat in the middle-order.”
Ramiz also felt Pakistan needs a quality all-rounder to challenge the world-class teams. He signed off by saying, “I don't know if they are preparing someone for that role or not but apart from that the team will be pretty much the same with one spinner and three fast-bowlers.”
(With PTI Inputs)
