Wasim Akram: “Fakhar Zaman has been out of form since the past month-and-a-half”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary left-arm seamer Wasim Akram admitted that Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman’s form has not been up to scratch over the past month-and-a-half.
Zaman had been struggling coming into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and was dropped after the opening game against the Netherlands, against whom he made 12 runs.
After missing five games, the 33-year-old came back to replace his opening partner Imam-ul-Haq and has played two crucial innings of 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
While this may potentially save him from being dropped, Wasim still has concerns about whether the Mardan native can keep delivering like this on a regular basis.
“Fakhar Zaman has been out of form since the past month-and-a-half,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan started the World Cup with wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They subsequently bounced back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, which also kept them in the race for a semi-final spot.
However, they ultimately failed to reach the final four and ended up losing their last group stage game against England.
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