Mickey Arthur: “It is really important for us that we keep Fakhar in this type of form”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Recently removed Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur said it is vital that opening batsman Fakhar Zaman stays in form and doesn’t suffer a relapse.
Zaman had been struggling to score runs going into the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup and was dropped after the first game against the Netherlands.
After missing the next five matches, he finally got back into the playing XI and made his presence felt as he hammered 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
Having seemingly rediscovered his form, Arthur reiterated that the 33-year-old must maintain it going forward.
“It is really important for us that we keep Fakhar in this type of form,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two games against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa,
Even though they bounced back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they were unable to book their spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign in dismal fashion as England pummelled them by 93 runs.
Pakistan are now facing Australia in a three-match Test series, but Zaman was not included in the squad.
Instead, he recently featured for Abbottabad Region in the National T20 Cup, where he amassed 320 runs in eight matches, which included three fifties, at an average of 45.71 and a strike-rate of 135.02.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia started 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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