The previously unheralded opener aims to once again break into Pakistan’s white balls as the defending champions host their first ICC tournament in 29 years.
Pakistan’s top batsman Fakhar Zaman is confident of a return to international cricket after eight months when his country hosts the ICC Champions Trophy in February and March.
Fakhar has not played international cricket since Pakistan’s first round T20 World Cup exit in June and subsequently missed out on a central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the first time in eight years.
“The plan was to get fully fit and play in the Champions Trophy,” Fakhar said. “I’m happy that I’m in shape right now. I started from the Champions Trophy in 2017 and it went really well for me. Now I’m also very excited about the next release.”
Fakhar had a tournament to remember in 2017 when he scored a match-winning century in the final against India.
“People don’t know that I got sick after the T20 World Cup,” Fakhar explained to the Vipers Voices podcast as he prepared to play in the International League T20 (ILT20) for the Desert Vipers in the United Arab Emirates. “I was not part of the squad due to my health condition but now I am 100 percent sure to play for Pakistan.”
The veteran batsman hit the headlines when he criticized the national cricket board shortly before Babar Azam was controversially rested for the final two home Test matches against England late last year due to his inconsistent form in red cricket. The PCB issued a show cause notice to Fakhar for his social media post in favor of Babar.
The function did not go down well with PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also expressed concern over Fakhar’s ability.
“It cannot happen like that. If the selection committee does not play one player, then other players start tweeting to express their displeasure,” Naqvi told reporters at the time.
“Players must not function like this and we will never allow it. The main question with [Fakhar] is his fitness test that he failed to clear.”
In Fakhar’s absence, Pakistan have won three away One-Day International (ODI) series in the last two months, beating Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa under new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Back home, Fakhar returned to competitive cricket during the Champions Cup T20 domestic tournament last month and was the third highest run-scorer with 303 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 132.31.
Pakistan’s latest all-white sensation, Saim Ayub, made two ODI centuries in South Africa before breaking his right ankle during the second Test in Cape Town last week.
Ayub has been ruled out of competitive cricket for at least six weeks, putting his participation in the Champions Trophy in question.
The PCB flew Ayub from Cape Town to London on Monday for treatment and Fakhar said he hoped Ayub would recover in time as Pakistan prepares to host its first major ICC tournament in 29 years.
“I hope he [Ayub] he will recover quickly,” Fakhar said. “I was thinking of calling Saim yesterday, just to talk to him about this injury. Believe me, he is such a great player that if he continues to play for the next four or five years, he will be among the top three players in the world.”
