A century on debut by Kamran Ghulam has substantiated the point that many former Pakistan players had been making in run-up to the Test series against England, and Basit Ali didn’t miss the opportunity to get under the skin of Michael Vaughan who had termed dropping Babar Azam a “stupid decision”.
Coming in to bat at a shaky 19 for 2, Ghulam showcased his skills to tackle both pace and spin expertly while scoring 118 off 224 balls, including 11 fours and 1 six.
Ghulam, who was awarded a debut for his consistent run in domestic cricket, added crucial 149 runs in partnership with opener Saim Ayub who scored 77.
The 29-year-old Ghulam replaced Babar in the Pakistan Test squad after the former captain went through another poor outing. Along with Babar, fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, as well as wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmad were also dropped by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi will be very happy today. He had given a statement that ‘there is no replacement at the moment’. But (selectors) Aaqib Javed & Co introduced a new kid and he made a century on debut,” said former Pakistan batsman Basit while analysing the first day’s play in a video on his YouTube channel.
“The best thing about the knock was that he (Ghulam) came out to bat when the score was 19 for 2,” he added.
Following the PCB’s decision to drop Babar, former England captain Michael Vaughan had tweeted: “So Pakistan haven’t won in a while .. Go 1 nil down in the series and decide to drop the best player in @babarazam258.. I guess Pakistan cricket is full of surprises but this tops the lot .. absolutely stupid decision .. unless he has asked for a break !!!”
Ahead of the toss on Tuesday, in conversation with another former England captain Nasser Hussain, PCB’s ex-chairman and Pakistan’s World Cup winner Ramiz Raja also believed that it was probably not right to drop Babar because “he sells cricket” for Pakistan.
But Basit disagreed, saying that the decision to drop Babar and Ghulam’s century has “opened the door for domestic performers”.
“…match shuru hone se pehle baat kar rahe the ke ji ‘usko rest gala kiya hai, sponsor nahi aayenge’ (they were saying before the match that it was wrong to rest Babar, sponsors won’t come),” said Basit. “Kamran Ghulam ki tasveer dikha dena Michael Vaughan ko aur kehna main hoon na (show Ghulam’s picture to Vaughan and tell him he is there).”
“The bold decision taken by the selectors can lead to betterment (of Pakistan cricket). Like Rohit Sharma had said there (in India), give domestic cricket its due,” he added.
Kamran Nay Debut Main Century Bana Kar Babar Ko Happy Birthday Bol Diya | Basit Ali
Opting to bat first on a pitch that was used for the first Test as well, Pakistan reached 259 for 5 at stumps with Mohammad Rizwan batting on 37 and Agha Salman on 5.
Pakistan had lost the opening Test by an innings and 47 runs despite scoring more than 500 runs in their first innings.