Aaqib Javed: “You are wasting Fakhar at 3, he is an opener”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Fakhar Zaman is wasted at number three as he is a genuine opener, ex-Pakistan seamer and Lahore Qalandars head coach Aaqib Javed said.
Currently, captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan open in T20Is and have done a great job as they score runs regularly.
But, having seen Zaman in action for the Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Aaqib feels that the men in green are making a big mistake by not letting him open.
On top of this, Azam and Rizwan have been criticised for taking too long to score their runs, which puts pressure on the other batsmen to hit big as soon as they come to the crease.
“You are wasting Fakhar at 3, he is an opener,” Aaqib said on Sports Paktv as quoted by Cricwick.
Pakistan are now gearing up to take on New Zealand in two Tests and three ODIs, with the first Test beginning on Monday in Karachi.
It comes right after England visited Pakistan and whitewashed Azam’s side 3-0 in the Test series.
Pakistan Squad for New Zealand Test Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood and Zahid Mahmood
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