Interim head coach of Pakistan’s national white-ball cricket team, Aaqib Javed, has suggested that Fakhar Zaman could make a comeback to the team, provided he regains full fitness. Speaking to the media at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Javed shared that Fakhar Zaman is currently facing fitness challenges, but if he recovers and is fully fit, he may be considered for upcoming series.
Fakhar Zaman was excluded from the central contracts for the 2024-25 international season, as well as the squads for the tours to Australia and Zimbabwe last month. This loss of contract hurt Fakhar Zaman a lot as he considered retirement in the international format.
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. However the current interim coach Aaqib Javed thinks otherwise and has urged that Fakhar Zaman should be fit to get chances for future tours .
Aaqib Javed on prime focus as a coach for the ODI team ahead of Champions Trophy 2025
Pakistan’s interim white-ball coach Aqib Javed said that his goal is to fine-tune Pakistan’s ODI side ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. He also spoke on Fakhar Zaman’s comeback and said Fakhar will be selected once he proves his fitness.
“It is a message and opportunity to the new players to take the chances they’ve been given. If you don’t give new players chances, you’ll never get the opportunity to improve your bench strength,” he added
On the upcoming Zimbabwe tour, Aaqib Javed expressed his determination to showcase strong performances. One name that has been creating quite a buzz in Pakistan cricket is of seasoned opener Fakhar Zaman. After being dropped from the squad against Australia, Fakhar is now inching closer to making a comeback. Aaqib addressed the elephant in the room and shared updates on Fakhar’s situation.
Aaqib Javed hints at Fakhar Zaman’s return to national squad ahead in the 2024 season
Aaqib also spoke on Fakhar Zaman and said the star batter is in line to make his comeback to the Pakistan side. Fakhar Zaman was dropped from the Pakistan side for the ODI series against Australia. The snub came after he tweeted in support of Babar Azam after he was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the final two Tests against England. Aaqib opened up on Fakhar Zaman’s omission and said fitness is a concern for him and once he proves his fitness, he will be considered for selection.