Explained - Why Fawad Alam quit Pakistan Cricket after playing for 15 years

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Pakistan cricketer Fawad Alam on Tuesday (August 8) called time on his international career which spanned 15 years. The left-handed batter and left-arm orthodox spinner shifted his base to the USA to ply his trade in the country.

Alam, who will turn 37 in October, will play as a local player for the Chicago Kingsmen in Minor League Cricket (MiCL) T20, a tournament that underpins USA's just concluded flagship T20 tournament Major League Cricket (MLC).

The 2023 edition of MiLC features 26 teams playing nationwide at 17 venues. Of these 26 games, 19 matches are set to be held at Grand Prairie Stadium, the newly redeveloped premier cricket venue in Grand Prairie, Texas. The venue was one of the two hosts of the just concluded MLC.

Fawad Alam switches his loyalty

Alam - who has been out of favour - has joined a long list of Pakistan cricketers such as Sami Aslam, Hammad Azam, Saif Badar and Mohammad Mohsin who moved their bases to the USA in search of greener pastures.

Although he made his white ball debut for Pakistan in 2007, Alam's presence has been sporadic at best in the Pakistan dressing room. Notching up a ton on Test debut in 2009, the Karachi-born cricketer was dropped a couple of Tests later and played his next game after a gap of 11 years, despite amassing truckloads of runs in the domestic circuit with an average of 55.

Alam - whose father Tariq Alam played in the domestic circuit in Pakistan - established himself on the national Test side for a brief period after his career got a new lease of life in 2020. He vindicated his selection by slamming a gritty hundred in New Zealand under trying circumstances.

Fawad Alam International Cricket Career For Pakistan

However, Alam's unorthodox technique got found out against Australia early this year. He managed 33 in 4 innings on the most docile tracks and was eventually dumped after failing in a Test against Sri Lanka in July 2022.

He was part of Pakistan's 2009 T20 World Cup winning squad but could only muster up 11 more games in the format after the championship win. He played 19 Tests, 38 ODIs and 24 T20Is for Pakistan with multiple centuries.

Fawad Alam's divided opinions and successful domestic career

Alam's non-selection in Tests accompanied by an unconventional technique divided opinions across the spectrum in Pakistan cricket for almost a decade. Former players and media vociferously clamoured for his selection as he churned out runs by the truckloads season after season in the Qaid-e-Azam trophy. He walks into the sunset with over 14,000 runs in domestic cricket.