Babar Azam: “We know when Fakhar plays the way he can for 20-30 overs it is a different ball game. So we let him play his natural game and it is good to see”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam said the team management has allowed opening batsman Fakhar Zaman to “play his natural game” and given him the license to hit.
Zaman was dropped after the opening game against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup due to his poor form with the bat.
After missing the next five games, he returned with a bang as he smashed 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
Considering how good the 33-year-old looked in those two matches, Azam said “it” is good to see” the Mardan native playing his way.
“We know when Fakhar plays the way he can for 20-30 overs it is a different ball game. So we let him play his natural game and it is good to see,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Azam stepped down as captain after the World Cup, where he scored 320 runs in nine matches, which included four fifties, at an average of 40.
Pakistan started off with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before succumbing to defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign on a low as England crushed them by 93 runs.
Azam will now play in Pakistan’s three-match Test series against Australia, while 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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