Zaman Khan: “He supports me a lot which gives me a lot of confidence”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Zaman Khan, the fast rising Pakistan speedster, has thanked team director for supporting him so much, saying it gives him a lot of confidence.
Zaman has already represented Pakistan in six T20Is to date and taken four wickets at an average of 32.50 and an economy rate of 6.66.
The 21-year-old was given the opportunity to play for Derbyshire in the 2023 Vitality Blast, which is the team that Arthur coaches.
Handed multiple chances to play, the Mirpur native lived up to all the hype as he was the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker with 25 wickets in 14 games at an average of 16.56 and an economy rate of 8.28.
In the Global T20 Canada, he continued to impress as he finished with seven wickets in six matches for the Toronto Nationals at an average of 20.28 and an economy rate of 7.10.
He then played in The Hundred and claimed two wickets in five games for the Manchester Originals at an average of 73.50 and an economy rate of 10.37.
Having enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence, Zaman reiterated that this wouldn’t have been possible without Arthur’s support.
“He supports me a lot which gives me a lot of confidence,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Zaman wasn’t selected for Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka or the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which the men in green won 2-0 and 3-0 respectively.
He was recently called up to the team for the ongoing Asia Cup, along with Shahnawaz Dahani, as potential replacements for the pace duo of Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf as both of them have picked up injuries.
Pakistan have done well in the tournament as they hammered Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was rained off, and pummelled Bangladesh by seven wickets.
However, their unbeaten run was stopped by India as the men in blue defeated them by 228 runs.
Pakistan’s next Super Four game will see them take on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir