Shane Watson: “That’s the stuff he can do and that’s what makes people turn the TV on to watch”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson said Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman is so entertaining to watch that people will turn on their TVs to see him in action.
Zaman’s spot in the ODI team is no longer secure as the 33-year-old has been extremely inconsistent over the past few months.
During the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, he was dropped from the playing XI after the opening game against the Netherlands due to his poor form.
After being sidelined for five games, he returned to replace Imam-ul-Haq and dominated against Bangladesh and New Zealand, hammering 81 and 126 not out respectively.
Having seen the awesome hitting power Zaman possesses, Watson questioned if it would be wise for Pakistan to drop him.
“That’s the stuff he can do and that’s what makes people turn the TV on to watch,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan triumphed in their first two World Cup games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four in a row to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they bounced back with consecutive victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, they were unable to qualify for the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign on a low as England smashed them by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now take on Australia in a three-match Test series, but Zaman was not picked in the squad.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will get underway 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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