Fakhar Zaman determined to return stronger for Champions Trophy

Fakhar Zaman anticipates his return to international cricket following an eight-month hiatus as Pakistan prepares to host the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Following Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup last June, Fakhar has been absent from international cricket and subsequently lost his PCB central contract for the first time in eight years.

In a conversation with the Vipers Voices podcast whilst preparing for ILT20 with Desert Vipers in the UAE, Fakhar revealed, “People don’t know that after the T20 World Cup I got sick. I was not part of the team because of my medical condition, but now (I’m) 100% (sure) I will play for Pakistan.”

The experienced opener drew attention when he criticised the national cricket administration prior to Babar Azam’s controversial omission from the final two home test matches against England last year. The PCB responded by issuing him a show cause notice regarding his social media support for Babar.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed disapproval of the situation, stating, “It cannot happen like that if selection committee is not playing one player, then other players start tweeting to express their displeasure. Players are not allowed to function like this, and we will never allow that. The main issue with (Fakhar) is his fitness test, that he was not able to clear.”

During Fakhar’s absence, Pakistan achieved success in three away ODI series, defeating Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa under new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.

Domestically, Fakhar participated in the Champions Cup T20 tournament, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer with 303 runs across 10 matches at a strike rate of 132.31.

“The plan was to get fully fit and play in the Champions Trophy,” Fakhar explained. “I am lucky to be fit right now. I started from the Champions Trophy 2017 and that went really well for me. Now I am very excited for the next edition also.”

His 2017 Champions Trophy performance was notable for his century in the final against India.

Pakistan’s emerging talent, Saim Ayub, who scored two ODI centuries in South Africa, recently suffered a right ankle fracture during the second test at Cape Town. His injury requires six weeks of recovery, casting doubt on his Champions Trophy participation.

After Ayub’s transfer to London for treatment, Fakhar expressed optimism about his recovery, stating, “I hope he (Ayub) will recover quickly. I was thinking to call 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-five years, he will be among the top three players in the world.”