Reports: Shadab Khan likely to make way for Fawad Alam for Southampton Test

Going into the second Test against England, it won’t much of a surprise if Pakistan resort to a few changes. Ahead of the match at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, it’s been learned that Fawad Alam may replace Shadab Khan, though it’s not a like-for-like replacement. Alam has been waiting in the wings for a long time and hasn’t played Test cricket since 2009.

He was included in the squad for the opening Test at the Old Trafford in Manchester, but he didn’t get a chance in the playing eleven. A number of people, including commoners and the who’s who of cricket, remain astonished with Alam’s continuous snub as the left-hander has scored over 12,000 first-class runs with 34 centuries.

Previously, former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram also said that he would include the southpaw in the middle-order. As per the veteran, the pitch in Southampton won’t favour spin-bowling and hence Pakistan could do with only one spinner.

I would include Fawad Alam, said Wasim Akram

“In the next match, you won’t find a turning wicket. You will play with one spinner and you will have to play with an extra batsman. If I was the captain, I would include Fawad Alam in the middle order,” Akram was quoted as saying in Cricket Pakistan.

As far as Shadab is concerned, he didn’t have much to do with the ball in the first Test. Yasir Shah handled the chunk of the responsibility in the spin department and Khan only got to bowl occasionally. In the first innings, he bowled 3.3 overs, dismissing Jofra Archer and James Anderson.

In the second, he was Pakistan’s most expensive bowler, conceding 34 runs in eight overs at an economy of 4.25. With the bat though, he got a gritty 76-ball 45 in the first innings with three fours. But Pakistan mostly depended on Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah and Shah in the bowling department.

Pakistan could easily have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. But Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler’s heroics during the run-chase dashed their hopes. Their skipper Azhar Ali is also going through a bit of a bad patch, especially with the bat in hand.