Is Fawad Alam Pakistan’s Ertugrul? Azhar Ali thinks so

• Fawad scored Test century against New Zealand after 11 years
• Ertugrul's character has shown a lot of determination and courage in the face of difficulties
• Azhar Ali was the brains behind Fawad Alam's celebrations

Former Pakistani skipper Azhar Ali likened Karachi batsman Fawad Alam to Turkish legend Ertugrul.

Sharing a collage of Fawad’s century celebration and Ertugrul Ghazi ready for battle in a still from popular Turkish series Dilris: Ertugrul, Azhar said the batsman has a “heart of a lion”.

“What a knock from Fawad Alam! A lot of courage and character and determination.”

After decade of cold shoulder, Fawad Alam proved his critics wrong with a Test century against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui.

Fawad’s last century was back in 2009 when he debuted against Sri Lanka. Ironically, despite an outstanding debut, Fawad was dropped after a couple of failures against New Zealand.

He would be picked by the management but barely made it to the playing 11. And this tour was no different. Until a thumb injury ruled out Babar Azam and Fawad found a chance to vindicate himself.

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Fawad’s celebration

In a post-match video, Fawad credited Azhar Ali for the celebration.

“During a four-day game, Azhar Ali and I had a discussion. He told me if I get a century, this is how I should celebrate it,” said Fawad. “May be God granted his wish. And I remembered what he had told me. So, this celebration was for him.”

Reflecting on the match, he said the team was at a difficult junction and needed a good partnership. “I tried to apply myself here and thankfully succeeded. We had discussed to play session by session and fight it out and not accept defeat.