Fakhar Zaman’s absence from the Pakistan team was discussed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi. The selection committee is more knowledgeable about the circumstances, he continued, but whoever does well would be a member of the Pakistan National Cricket Team.
Fakhar Zaman, a batter for the Pakistan National Cricket Team, has not been present at the national team’s events. He got into a heated argument with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over Babar Azam’s exclusion from Test matches a few months ago.
It seems that Fakhar Zaman paid a rich price for Babar Azam’s drop from the Pakistan team. Zaman then took to social media and criticized the PCB for dropping Babar and stated that the board should value its players.
Fakhar Zaman is playing price for his comments on Babar Azam being dropped
The Pakistan Cricket Board sent Fakhar Zaman a notice following this tweet. However, following the hearing, they decided to take it easy on the batter and asserted that, since the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 is approaching, the batter would soon return to the team.
However, there hasn’t been any encouraging news regarding the batter thus far. Fakhar Zaman has demonstrated his fitness by playing domestic cricket consistently. However, Mohammad Rizwan, the captain and team manager, stated that the batter was ill of some sort. They mentioned that once he is fit, he will be included in the team.
Mohsin Naqvi opens up about Fakhar Zaman and blames Jason Gillespie
Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman, was questioned about the batter problem while he was in the media. He said the question would be better answered by the selecting committee.
Mohsin Naqvi also discussed Red-Ball head coach Jason Gillespie’s resignation, claiming that he was only included in the selection committee and not given full decision-making authority.
He stated: “Ask the selection committee about Fakhar Zaman. Whoever performs well will play for Pakistan. The head coach’s job is not to make selections, it’s to coach. Jason Gillespie was only a member of the PCB selection committee and was not given the entire authority of decision-making in the selection of the Pakistan Cricket Team. Only one person cant make every decision.”
Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi said that Ask the selection committee about Fakhar Zaman.Whoever performs well will play for Pakistan.The head coach's job is not to make selections it's to coach.Gillespie was made a member of the selection committee, but complete authority for…
— Qadir Khawaja (@iamqadirkhawaja) December 22, 2024
Notably, Jason Gillespie quit as Pakistan team head coach before the tour of South Africa and mentioned that he wasn’t aware of developments taking place and didn’t know his assistant coach, Tim Nielsen, had been told to go, adding that PCB made his job tough.
Jason Gillespie added that he had to inquire about sharing teams for the South Africa series with selectors, but he received no answer. He claimed that incidents such as these caused him to question whether the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) truly wanted him on as a coach.