Sohaib Maqsood: “Fakhar Zaman not in central contract [list]. Must be [a] typing error, can’t be true”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan power-hitter Sohaib Maqsood admitted to being in shock when it was announced that big-hitting batsman Fakhar Zaman was not given a central contract for the 2024/25 season.
Many believe Zaman was punished after he criticised the decision to drop Babar Azam midway through Pakistan’s recent three-Test series against England.
In addition to losing his central contract, the 34-year-old was not selected for Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and Zimbabwe.
Maqsood can’t understand why the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) would make such a decision, especially considering the impact Zaman can have with the bat.
“Fakhar Zaman not in central contract [list]. Must be [a] typing error, can’t be true,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
During their tour of Australia, Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1 but were whitewashed 3-0 in the T20Is.
The men in green will now travel to Zimbabwe to play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series:Â Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series:Â Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series:Â Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series:Â Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan