Kamran Ghulam may have envisioned a grand welcome into the international set-up for himself, but he got a far cry from that. He was slotted in at the expense of the nation’s darling. Even his 50 FC average could not save him from the fans’ subtle ire. The pitch that awaited him on his debut was rumored to have lost interest in helping batters. His team stood at 19/2 as he strode toward the ground to face his first international ball. That he had big shoes to fill, further took away any chance of calming down he had. But Kamran had spent enough time in Pakistan’s domestic circuit to know that when things do not go your way, you make them.
He batted for almost the entire day on the pitch which was strikingly different from how it was a week ago. Mind you, there is still not much certainty as to how the surface will play. But Kamran character-sketched the pitch and acted accordingly. His knock was slow. But not of an atrocious kind. It was serene. But not entirely quiet. Much like Kamran Ghulam himself. Neither Bazball nor any kind of fear of fitting in could influence him to digress from his natural game. He confessed it himself.
“When I came to the wicket we’d lost two wickets. But I wanted to play with a positive mind like I do in first-class cricket. That was at the back of my mind, and I wanted to play my natural game.”
Kamran Ghulam, though, has not been magicked out of thin air. He has been navigating through domestic cricket in Pakistan for the past decade. His centuries and milestones often made headlines, but they were never enough to get him a chance to play so much as a game at the senior level.
“I’d been waiting for my chance a long time but I never gave up. I had been waiting for my chance. That’s all I thought about. I kept being selected and then omitted from squads, and all I used to think about was how to take the chance I’d been given.”
He eventually reached his ton with a four off Joe Root, becoming the 13th Pakistan player to score a century on debut. A debut that he had waited so long for.
“I’ve scored a lot of first-class runs. I didn’t care about the venue or the team, I just needed to make my debut. I knew I had a lot of hard work behind me, and thankfully that work has paid off for me.”
Kamran is not unaware of the incessant comparison with Babar that he has and has yet to face. He shrugged off the question about how he thinks of the comparison by acknowledging that he will not let any outside noise mar the opportunity he has so painstakingly achieved.
“Babar (Azam) is a very good player and at the back of my mind, I was thinking he’s a legend, a very good player. But I thought I’d give 110% and play with a positive mindset. I knew I had to take my opportunity.”
His last-minute inclusion would be debated an overwhelming number of times, at least, until he comes out to bat in the third inning again. At which point, he will, once again, have to face the unsure gazes of fans and pundits. But for now, he should be allowed to rest his feet for he has come a long way.
