Fawad Alam

Fawad Tariq Alam is a Pakistani cricketer and actor who represents Sindh and the Pakistan national cricket team. Born on 8 October 1985 in Karachi, he primarily operates as a left-handed batter while also bowling slow left-arm orthodox. He is recognized for his prolific domestic scoring and his notable return to international Test cricket after a gap of more than 10 years.

Early life and education

Fawad comes from a family deeply rooted in cricket. His father, Tariq Alam, was a Pakistani first-class cricketer. He also has significant cricketing relatives, as his paternal uncle Rafat Alam and his maternal uncle Waheed Mirza both played first-class cricket for Pakistan. Additionally, he is the cousin of English Test cricketer Usman Afzaal.

Career

After the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Fawad joined a 16-man squad for an ODI series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi. He experienced a first-ball duck on his debut, but he later contributed 32 unbeaten runs when Pakistan defeated India in Jaipur. During the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, he played in the semi-final and took two wickets against New Zealand. He scored his maiden international half century against Hong Kong during the June 2008 Asia Cup.

In October 2008, Fawad participated in a quadrangular Twenty20 International tournament in Canada. During the fourth match, he hit 23 not out from eight balls and recorded three sixes. He followed this performance by taking three wickets for seven runs in his next match against Zimbabwe.

Fawad toured England in 2010 to prepare for international matches by playing club cricket. He achieved a personal breakthrough in the third ODI of that tour by increasing his top score to 64. Although he retained his place for an ODI series against South Africa in the UAE, he was eventually dropped from both the ODI and T20 teams later that year.

After being excluded from all formats for three and a half years, Fawad earned a recall for the 2014 Asia Cup. He scored 74 runs from 70 balls against Bangladesh to help his team win. In the final against Sri Lanka, he scored his maiden international ODI hundred of 114 not out. This innings rescued Pakistan from a score of 18/3 to reach 260/5.

His Test career began in July 2009 when he became the first Pakistani to score a Test century on debut away from home. He scored 168 runs against Sri Lanka and shared a 200-run partnership with captain Younus Khan. This feat broke the previous record of 151 runs held by Mohsin Khan and Majid Khan. However, he was dropped from the national side just two Test matches later.

Fawad returned to the Test squad in December 2019 after a gap of more than 88 Tests. By this time, he had accumulated over 8000 runs and 26 centuries in first-class cricket with an average of 56.48. He played against England in August 2020, marking his return after a period of 10 years and 258 days. In December 2020, he scored his first Test hundred in 4,218 days during a series against New Zealand. Following this century, he emulated the celebration style of Ertugrul Gazi from the Turkish drama series Diriliş: Ertuğrul.

In January 2021, Fawad scored 109 during the first Test against South Africa. He made history on 30 April 2021 by becoming the first Asian cricketer to convert his first four Test 50s into 100s during a match against Zimbabwe. He reached five Test centuries in just 22 innings, making him the fastest Pakistani and fastest Asian batsman to achieve this milestone.

Personal life

Fawad married the daughter of former Pakistan Test cricketer Mansoor Akhtar in Karachi during November 2011.