May 16, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 10, 1429

KARACHI, May 15: Pakistan batsman Faisal Iqbal has a burning desire to represent his country in limited-overs cricket despite being considered as a Test specialist by the national selectors for long.

The 26-year-old Faisal, a nephew of former national skipper and batting legend Javed Miandad, has not played any one-dayer since the Multan One-day International against West Indies in December 2006.

The deferment of Australia’s scheduled tour of Pakistan in March/April this year means Pakistan will see out 2008 without playing a single Test.

Faisal, while taking to Dawn on Thursday, admitted that it was frustrating for someone like him who had been constantly overlooked for one-day cricket by the selectors.

“As a professional cricketer I feel that they [the selectors] should consider me for the shorter version of the game. With no Test series to look forward to in the near future, I want to have a fair crack at one-day cricket,” Faisal said.

In a start-stop-start career, Faisal has played just 21 Tests and 18 ODIs since making his international debut in March 2000 against Sri Lanka in a one-dayer at Lahore.

“For some reasons I’ve been always looked upon as a ‘replacement’ player by different selection committees. I can’t remember the number of times I was picked to make a comeback [didn’t play a Test for three years].

“The only way I got a chance was if someone got injured as Inzamam-ul-Haq did when I marked my Test comeback with a series-winning century [139 at Karachi] against India in January 2006.

“And again it was an injury to Inzamam that provided me a chance to play in my first one-dayer for more than three years. I scored 30 runs in a difficult situation in the match we lost. Since then I have been overlooked for ODI selection.

“I feel that unless a player gets a proper run, it’s extremely difficult to cement one’s place in the playing XI because inevitably, one is generally playing under pressure. The fear of failure creeps in your mind when playing opportunities are so few,” he opined.

Faisal pointed out he was keen to play in one-day/Twenty20 cricket.

“My priorities are straightforward and simple: I want to be part of the Pakistan team in all forms of the game because playing for the country is a great honour. With no Test cricket until next year, this long wait can be painfully agonising for those who are only picked for the five-day game.

“I always believe that there is nothing more satisfying than playing for Pakistan. For this very reason, I turned down a lucrative offer from the Indian Cricket League (ICL) because I didn’t want to jeopardise my future with Pakistan,” he explained.

Faisal is shortly due to leave for Florida to play in a series of Twenty20 matches, organised by Cricket Council USA, from May 23 to 25. Among the prominent invitees are former greats Javed Miandad, Mohammad Azharuddin and Richie Richardson.