Umar Gul: “Shahbash Fakhar Zaman, everyone was waiting and hoping for such a batting [display] and you delivered it at the right time”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
New Pakistan fast bowling coach Umar Gul said everyone was waiting for opening batsman Fakhar Zaman to catch fire again.
Zaman’s poor form with the bat led to him getting dropped from the playing XI after Pakistan’s opening game against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
He subsequently missed the next five matches before returning to take Imam-ul-Haq’s spot and having an instant impact as he hammered 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
Gul noted that the 33-year-old rediscovered his form at the right time since Pakistan really needed him to step up.
“Shahbash Fakhar Zaman, everyone was waiting and hoping for such a batting [display] and you delivered it at the right time,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before suffering four consecutive defeats to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite bouncing back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to make it to the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign in disappointing fashion as England pummelled them by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now play a three-match Test series against Australia, 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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