Ian Bishop: “Top knock from Fakhar Zaman. The freedom of spirit and controlled aggression is wonderful”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop said he loves seeing Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman’s “controlled aggression” when batting, calling it “wonderful.”
Zaman’s form has been extremely turbulent over the past few months and he was even dropped after Pakistan’s opening game against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 33-year-old missed the next five matches before returning to the playing XI and hammering 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
It was Zaman’s century against New Zealand that particularly impressed Bishop as he felt the Mardan native had been given full freedom to play his natural game.
“Top knock from Fakhar Zaman. The freedom of spirit and controlled aggression is wonderful,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their final group stage game against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now play a three-match Test series against Australia, but Zaman was not included in the 18-man 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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