The long-lasting casting of the non-selection of the opening batter of Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman, has been going on for a long time as the board decided not to include him for any of the ODI or T20I squad in their upcoming trips to Australia and Zimbabwe. The opener, now, finds himself out of the time in both the white-ball formats of the game.
For the first time since 2016, Fakhar Zaman was not handed a central contract by the Pakistan board due to his fitness and his personal stance against the selectors of the board. The new selection committee of the PCB decided to omit their former captain of the Green Brigade and the poster boy Babar Azam from the squad, of the second and third home Test match, against England.
The move came on the back of the veteran’s poor form in the longest format for the last two to three years, while the two pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah were also given a break. However, that drove the Mardan-born to make a statement on his social media account, where he accused the members of the board of not showing enough confidence and belief in Babar, something which the BCCI did on Virat Kohli.
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“It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team.” Fakhar Zaman wrote on his ‘X’ handle.
A few days before the incident, the top Pakistan players were summoned for a meeting with the board members of the PCB and their chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, where the veteran pointed the finger at one of the senior members of the committee.
His fitness issue was already putting so much pressure on his selection, as he failed to complete the two-kilometer challenge in eight minutes since returning from the Caribbean. The batter was expected to be a huge contributor for the Green Brigade, having already drilled 3492 runs in 81 innings at an average of over 46 and a strike rate of more than 90.
PCB to relax its stance over the case of Fakhar Zaman in the selection
Naqvi was asked in the press conference if Fakhar Zaman was dropped because of his tweet, in which the former felt that even though the latter has been a huge issue, the fitness problems have also made his route quite constrained.
The newly appointed white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, who will be leading the side from the Australia series having Salman Ali Agha as the vice-captain, has advocated for the return of the opening batter, addressing the contribution he would have brought into the contest.
“There’s no question about the impact of Fakhar Zaman, he is an influential player who can change the game singlehandedly under any conditions. While some decisions are beyond my control, we have discussed his potential return and hope the matter will soon be resolved.” The wicket-keeper batter elaborated during the media interaction.
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All of these seem to be working for Zaman, as the board is looking to show some flexibility and take a soft stance on the matter, as the local news channel has reported. The reports have hinted that the PCB is moving to a logical resolution and progress for the case in the upcoming few days.
If everything goes well, then the selection committee can think of bringing him back at some stage of the Zimbabwe series or the upcoming South Africa trip.