Fawad Alam completes 10,000 runs in first-class cricket

Left-handed batsman becomes second fastest to achieve the feat, falling short of legendary Hanif Mohammad

Pakistan middle-order batsman Fawad Alam completed 10,000 runs in first-class cricket on Sunday while playing for SSGC against UBL in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam trophy in Sialkot on Sunday.

The left-handed batsman was unbeaten on 108 when he reached the milestone on his 211th inning during his 132nd first-class match.

Feel proud to be a part of the SSGC family and at the same time very honoured to lead them as a captain. May this be a long & successful pic.twitter.com/6FRPWPkqAK

— Fawad Alam (@iamfawadalam25) November 13, 2016

Alam is second to legendary Hanif Mohammad in list of Pakistani players reaching 10,000 first-class runs in fewer innings. Hanif Mohammad reached the milestone in 189 innings.

The southpaw bettered the records set by Pakistan greats Mohammad Yousuf and Misbahul Haq, who crossed the 10,000-run mark in their 219th and 221st inning respectively.



Alam has a batting average of 57.25 (as of second day’s play in the ongoing match) in first-class cricket. However, he has only represented Pakistan in three Tests where he averaged 41.66 with the bat.

The 31-year-old’s omission from the national squad has been a major point of contention in the cricket fraternity. Recently, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Shaharyar Khan said that if he was a member of the national selection committee, then he wouldn’t have excluded the batsman from the list.

“If it was up to me, Fawad [Alam] would still be among our centrally contracted players,” he told Daily Express earlier. “I think it was unfair to exclude him. And now, with him getting older, it would be tougher for him to make a comeback to the national side.”



However, the board chairman clarified that Alam’s marginalisation was not due to any fault of his own, rather due to the recent crop of players available.

“Even though a player of his calibre is more suitable in Tests instead of ODIs and T20Is, but, fortunately for us, there are many good players available in the format,” he said.

Nevertheless, Alam’s SSGC teammates celebrated his achievement and had a cake-cutting ceremony for their captain.