Fakhar Zaman: “I think Mohammad Amir [is the toughest]. He does not trouble you with pace but he just does not give you room”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Fakhar Zaman, the Pakistan opening batsman, has picked left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir as the toughest bowler he has faced.
Amir was once a prodigy in Pakistan and lived up to the hype as he burst onto the international scene, taking plenty of wickets and troubling batsmen all over the world with his swing and pace.
While Zaman didn’t have a problem with the 31-year-old’s bowling speed, which hovers around 140 kph, he acknowledged that the Gujjar Khan native cramped him for room and made it difficult for him to play shots.
“I think Mohammad Amir [is the toughest]. He does not trouble you with pace but he just does not give you room,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Zaman didn’t play in Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka, but did score 59 runs in the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan at an average of 19.66.
He then proceeded to make 65 runs in five games during the Asia Cup at an average of 16.25.
The 33-year-old from Mardan is currently involved in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, but only played in the opening game against the Netherlands, in which he scored 12 runs.
His poor form resulted in him being dropped and replaced by Abdullah Shafique, who struck a career-best 113 against Sri Lanka.
Pakistan beat the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, but lost their match against India by seven wickets.
They will now go up against Australia on October 20 in Bengaluru.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali
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