Mickey Arthur: “We know when he plays well he is exceptional”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Recently removed Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur said he knows opening batsman Fakhar Zaman can be “exceptional” when he “plays well.”
Zaman’s form with the bat has been very turbulent over the past few months and even resulted in him getting dropped from the playing XI 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 being brought back to replace Imam-ul-Haq, who was also struggling to score runs.
Having been handed a lifeline, Zaman made the most of it as he smashed 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
Given the hitting power he displayed, Arthur noted that this is what Zaman is capable of doing regularly when he is on top of his game.
“We know when he plays well he is exceptional,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan started the World Cup with successive wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before faltering against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their their final group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now face Australia in a three-match Test series, but Zaman was not included in the 18-man squad.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will start 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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