“You dropped Fawad Alam without any reason” – Danish Kaneria as Pakistan lose Test series against England

Former cricketer Danish Kaneria has criticized the selection committee for dropping Fawad Alam as Pakistan lost the second Test against England by 26 runs in the Multan.

The hosts succumbed to a 0-2 defeat in the three-match series. He was also disgusted with the team management as Sarfaraz Ahmed was benched in the Multan Test.

The former spinner wants Babar Azam and Co. to give Sarfaraz an opportunity in the Karachi Test.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria said:

“The players who were good, you don’t want to play them. You dropped Fawad Alam without any reason. You’ve kept Sarfaraz Ahmed away, you didn’t utilize him. (Jab is tarah zyadti karoge tab aapko ese hi results milenge) When you do such things, you’ll get similar results.”

He added:

“Give opportunities to Sarfaraz. It’s useless to make him sit in the dressing room. You better give that opportunity to the youngster who can learn something. What will Sarfaraz learn on the bench? He is an ex-captain and has been scoring runs in domestic cricket.”

For the uninitiated, Fawad Alam had a dismal year in Tests. He scored only 58 runs in six innings at a paltry average of 9.67. He, however, scored 571 runs in nine Tests last year.

Selector Muhammad Wasim justified the call. He told Cricket Pakistan:

“He could not perform well in the previous three series, which is why we selected Saud Shakeel.”

He was overlooked for the Test series against England despite scoring 706 runs at an average of 64.18 in the recently concluded Quaid-e-Azam trophy. His Sindh teammate Sarfaraz also scored 394 runs in eight games.

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“Is this the reason why you’re not playing Sarfaraz?” – Danish Kaneria

Kaneria further mentioned that Sarfaraz Ahmed should replace Mohammad Rizwan, who failed to deliver in the second Test. He reckons Babar Azam and Co. should give him an opportunity in the Karachi Test, starting on Saturday, December 17.

He said:

"You’re playing Rizwan in Test, ODI, and T20Is. If you remove him and play Sarfaraz and if the latter performs, Pakistan will be forced to play him once again. Is this the reason why you’re not playing Sarfaraz? Bring him for Karachi Test. You’ve already lost the series."

Sarfaraz, 35, played his last Test against South Africa in 2019. He will be keen to play his 50th Test when Pakistan take the field in the third Test against England.