Ramiz Raja: “Fakhar Zaman is a walking wicket nowadays”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has described opening batsman Fakhar Zaman as a “walking wicket” due to his abysmal form with the bat.
Zaman has failed to score runs consistently for quite some time now and Ramiz doesn’t see the 33-year-old lasting in the team much longer.
This could especially be the case since the Mardan native has already been replaced by Abdullah Shafique at the top of the order in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
“Fakhar Zaman is a walking wicket nowadays,” Ramiz said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Zaman did feature in Pakistan’s World Cup opener against the Netherlands, but failed to have an impact as he was dismissed for 12.
Shafique subsequently took his spot and has done exceptionally well, making scores of 113, 20, 64 and 58 against Sri Lanka, India, Australia and Afghanistan respectively.
Pakistan beat the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before succumbing to defeats in their next three games.
Currently in a precarious spot, the men in green will be determined to secure to massive win against South Africa on October 27 in Chennai.
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