[MENTION=147292]RedwoodOriginal[/MENTION] [MENTION=154093]wajid[/MENTION]
If Pujara was picked for India right now at the age of 32-33 with 15k FC runs under his belt, he would be expected to perform right away and there would be no “settling in” period for him.
You are making an apples-oranges comparison. Fawad Alam is a 35 year old veteran with 12k FC runs. The sole purpose of selecting him at this stage of his career was to capitalize from his experience so that he can make an instant impact and hit the ground running.
Telephone numbers sandwiched between one inconsequential innings is not instant impact. If he needs 2-3 years of bedding period so that he can start mimicking his FC performances in international cricket at the age of 38 which is retirement age, then we may as well invest in this time in a younger player with a good FC record.
Pujara was picked by India in his early 20s. He was a long-term investment and India could afford to see him learn through the trials and tribulations of international cricket.
Fawad is not a long-term investment. Should he have been a long-term investment and got his his chances 10 years back? Perhaps, but that ship has sailed.
Right now, he is not a long-term investment because there is nothing to invest. He will be done in a couple of years, so he should be utilizing his FC experience and class right away.
Unfortunately, he has been batting like a rookie player in his early 20’s who cannot cope with international class bowling but has played one innings in-between that gives hope that he could be promising down the line. In Fawad’s case, there is no “down the line”. It is now or never.
Fawad is to Pakistan what basically Adam Voges was to Australia in 2015-16. After toiling and performing in Shield Cricket for 10+ years, he finally got the chance to play Test cricket at the age of 35-36.
There was no bedding in period for him. He took to international cricket like duck to water and utilized all his experience to muster an average of 60+ after 20 Tests with a top score of 269.
After a couple of years, after the age of 37-38, he was discard because Australia knew they had already extracted whatever they could from him.
If Fawad Alam is not good enough to perform in SENA conditions at the age of 35 and 160+ FC matches under his belt, there there is no need to flex his FC record.
And if he needs time to settle in international cricket than he is not an intelligent investment because he is not going to last long anyway.