AUS vs PAK : PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi Clarifies Fakhar Zaman’s Omission Ahead Of Australia White Ball Leg Tour

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In a big development in Pakistan cricket, opener Fakhar Zaman is considering retirement from international cricket after being left out of the team for the ODI and T20I series against Australia. Fakhar Zaman came out against PCB openly criticizing their move to drop Babar Azam from the Test squad vs England. In addition, he also compared Babar to India legend Virat Kohli suggesting that the BCCI was behind Virat Kohli in his slump.

Recently, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the squads for the ODIs and T20Is in Australia. While Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed the new white-ball captain of the team, Salman Ali Agha has been named the vice-captain. However, the biggest surprise was the omission of Zaman from both teams. Fakhar Zaman was dropped from both the ODI and the T20I teams regarding his fitness concerns and his controversial tweet backing Babar Azam.

Fakhar Zaman considers retirement from international cricket

According to the reports, the decision of the selectors to drop Fakhar Zaman from both the white-ball teams has not gone down well with the cricketer. Fakhar Zaman has also been asked by the PCB to undergo a fitness test in January next year.

The reports also claim that Fakhar Zaman is also considering retirement from all formats of the game after his omission. Fakhar Zaman is one of the most aggressive batters in the team and his retirement can be a big blow for Pakistan.

Fakhar Zaman became a star just after making his international debut in 2017. The left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman scored a match-winning hundred in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against India and led Pakistan to a historic title win over the arch-rivals.

The 34-year-old has played 3 Tests, 82 ODIs, and 92 T20Is against Pakistan so far. While he has been unable to make a mark in red-ball cricket, he has been a key part of Pakistan’s white-ball teams. Fakhar Zaman has scored 3492 runs at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of 93.44 with 11 hundreds and 16 fifties in ODIs. He has scored 1848 runs at an average of 22.81 and a strike rate of 132.94 in T20Is.

The PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi later reasoned Fakhar’s omission as the lack of fitness. Naqvi also revealed that Fakhar’s earlier tweet in support of Babar Azam was also one of the reasons behind his omission.

Mohsin Naqvi reasons Fakhar Zaman’s omission ahead of Australia series 2024

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi said on Sunday (October 27) that senior batter Fakhar Zaman’s social media comments on the selection committee’s choices had played a role in his removal from Pakistan men’s central contracts. He also cited fitness issues as the bigger factor in the board’s decision.

The PCB announced a new list of central contracts earlier in the day and Zaman, who criticized the committee’s decision to drop Babar Azam from the Test squad midway through the England series, was no longer part of Category ‘B’. This was the first time in eight years the left-hander has missed out on a central contract.

“Tweet was one issue, but the bigger matter was that of fitness,” Naqvi said in a press conference on Sunday. “There is a show-cause notice pending against him, and we will see about that. He would need to prove his fitness, his point of view was valued in the Connection Camp and I am very thankful to him for that but you cannot go around commenting on the selection committee over selection calls.”

The press conference was arranged for Mohsin Naqvi to kick off Mohammad Rizwan’s captaincy tenure, with the wicketkeeper-batter replacing Babar Azam at the helm.

Full list of Pakistan’s centrally contracted players after Fakhar Zaman’s removal

Fakhar Zaman’s removal wasn’t the only major change in the contracts. Senior pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was demoted from Category ‘A’ to ‘B’, leaving only Babar and Rizwan in the top-most tier for the coming year.

Category A: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan

Category B: Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood

Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan

Category D: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Khan

Also Read: IND vs ENG: “Side Arm Specialists In India Need To Work Hard To Prepare Batters For Tough Times”- Abhishek Jain Gives His Invaluable Insights

 


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