Nasser Hussain: “Fakhar Zaman has been a bit out of nick recently”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former England captain Nasser Hussain admitted Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman has been “out of nick” as of late.
Zaman was one of Pakistan’s go-to openers and took on the role of being the more aggressive one when batting with his partner, Imam-ul-Haq.
However, since his runs have dried up, the men in green have had no choice but to drop him from the playing XI and replace him with 23-year-old Abdullah Shafique.
“Fakhar Zaman has been a bit out of nick recently,” Hussain said on Sky Sports as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
In the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, Zaman made 12 runs in Pakistan’s first match against the Netherlands.
His failure to post a big score led to Shafique being given an opportunity, which he has made the most of as the Sialkot native has struck 113, 20, 64 and 58 against Sri Lanka, India, Australia and Afghanistan respectively.
Pakistan beat the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing their next three games.
With the team in dire straits right now, they will be desperate to pick up a win over 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