Cricket: Faisal looks to make it big this time

Batsman wants to become Pakistan’s mainstay with the willow.

KARACHI: It’s not the first time Faisal Iqbal has made a comeback to the national squad but the middle-order batsman wants it to be the last, insisting that the form he is in will help him become a permanent name in the playing-eleven.

Iqbal last played for Pakistan in the infamous Sydney Test in January 2010, scoring 27 and seven as Pakistan failed to seal the win. The emergence of Azhar Ali and the performance of Younus Khan and Misbahul Haq meant that the selectors did not need a replacement. However, after a phenomenal domestic season, he gets another chance to add to his 1,438 international runs.

“I am at the peak of my career as I’ve scored seven centuries this season and am targeting a strong comeback,” Iqbal told The Express Tribune from London. “I was a replacement player in my early days but now I want to become the mainstay of Pakistan’s batting line-up for the remaining eight or nine years of my career.”

He added that by constantly playing domestic cricket, he has been able to overcome his weaknesses and ruled out the age-factor, citing examples of others who have been impressive in their comebacks despite having crossed the 30-mark.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2012.