Mickey Arthur: “Since Fakhar has come in he has just been unbelievable”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Recently removed Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur admitted that opening batsman Fakhar Zaman has “been unbelievable” since he returned to the playing XI.

Zaman was dropped after Pakistan’s opening game against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and subsequently missed the next five matches.

He then returned to the main squad to replace Imam-ul-Haq and put on a show as he smacked 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.

Arthur admitted that he was completely surprised by how dominant the 33-year-old was when he came back into the playing XI.

“Since Fakhar has come in he has just been unbelievable,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before suffering defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.

Despite fighting back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.

The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England thrashed them by 93 runs.

Pakistan will now face Australia in a three-match Test series, but Zaman was not included in the squad.

The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will begin on December 14 in Perth.

Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi

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