Ramiz Raja: “I think Fakhar should himself refuse to play”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes opening batsman Fakhar Zaman “should himself refuse to play.”
He noted that Zaman hasn’t been the dominant opener he once was and needs some time away from the national team to rediscover his form.
The 33-year-old has already lost his place in the playing XI in the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, with Abdullah Shafique having come in and made the most of the opportunity given to him.
Since Shafique is shining, Ramiz feels Zaman needs to go back to the drawing board and come back a better batsman.
“I think Fakhar should himself refuse to play,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Zaman featured in Pakistan’s first World Cup game against the Netherlands, but only made 12 runs.
From then on, Shafique has opened the batting with Imam-ul-Haq and scored 113, 20, 64 and 58 against Sri Lanka, India, Australia and Afghanistan respectively.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before suffering three straight losses.
They will be determined to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat when they go up 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
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