Shahid Afridi: “Fakhar the nation is proud of you. Always stick to playing on your strengths no matter what”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary big-hitter Shahid Afridi has advised Pakistan opening batsman Fakhar Zaman to stick to his strengths.
Zaman’s form has been highly inconsistent as of late, especially considering that he was dropped after Pakistan’s opening game against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 33-year-old returned to the playing XI after missing five matches and found some form as he smashed 81 and 126 not out against Bangladesh and New Zealand respectively.
Given how well Zaman played in those two matches, Afridi noted that the entire nation was proud of the Mardan native.
“Fakhar the nation is proud of you. Always stick to playing on your strengths no matter what,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four straight to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Even though they fought back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they could not book their spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green ended their campaign in dismal fashion as England crushed them by 93 runs.
Pakistan are now playing a three-match Test series against Australia, but Zaman was not included in the 18-man squad.
Instead, he featured in the National T20 Cup and accumulated 320 runs in eight matches for Abbottabad Region, which included three fifties, at an average of 45.71 and a strike-rate of 135.02.
Pakistan are 2-0 down in their series against Australia and will look to finish on a high by claiming a consolation win in the third Test in Sydney, which begins on January 3.
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, Mohammad Nawaz and Shaheen Shah Afridi