Ramiz Raja: “He knows how to handle pressure”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, said opening batsman Fakhar Zaman doesn’t have any problem handling pressure.
Zaman is used to playing in tense situations, especially since he opens the batting for the men in green in ODIs.
This, according to Ramiz, is an incredibly useful skill to have as many batsmen are susceptible to crumbling in such scenarios.
“He knows how to handle pressure,” the 61-year-old former captain said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricwick.
Zaman was in fine form during Pakistan’s five-match ODI series against New Zealand as he made 363 runs, which included two centuries, at an average of 90.75 in the five-match ODI series against New Zealand.
He then scored 161 runs in six games for the Vancouver Knights during the Global T20 Canada, which included a top score of 73, at an average of 26.83 and a strike-rate of 119.25.
Recently, he represented B-Love Kandy in the Lanka Premier League (LPL), where he has amassed 156 runs in seven matches at an average of 22.28 and a strike-rate of 113.86.
Zaman wasn’t included in the Pakistan team for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which they won 2-0.
However, he has been picked for the ongoing three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which is being played in Sri Lanka.
Following the Afghanistan series, the men in green will feature in the Asia Cup, which will be hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka from August 30 to September 17.
Pakistan Squad for Afghanistan ODI Series and 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel (Afghanistan series only), Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr