Sohaib Maqsood: “He was the biggest rescue to our defensive T20 batting. He is not in the team, a lot of things are getting exposed clearly”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan big-hitter Sohaib Maqsood wants batsman Fakhar Zaman recalled to the national team as “he was the biggest rescue to our defensive T20 batting”.
Many Pakistan players, including Babar Azam and white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, have been criticised for batting too slow in the past and stopping the team from posting competitive totals in T20Is.
Maqsood noted that Zaman plays a very aggressive brand of cricket and is just what the men in green need right now.
Zaman has been overlooked for the past few series, with some speculating it was because he criticised the decision to drop Babar Azam midway through Pakistan’s three-Test series against England in October 2024.
However, limited overs head coach Aaqib Javed noted that he had some issues with his fitness.
The 34-year-old from Mardan was recently in action in the Champions T20 Cup, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer with 303 runs in 10 matches for the Markhors, which included two fifties, at an average of 30.30 and a strike-rate of 132.31.
“He was the biggest rescue to our defensive T20 batting. He is not in the team, a lot of things are getting exposed clearly,” Maqsood said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan were recently in Australia and won the ODI series 2-1 before being pummelled 3-0 in the T20Is.
The men in green then travelled to Zimbabwe and triumphed 2-1 in both the ODI and T20I series.
Currently, they are touring South Africa and lost the T20I series 2-0 before rebounding to secure a 3-0 victory in the ODIs.
Pakistan and South Africa are now involved in a two-Test series, which the Proteas lead 1-0 after winning the 1st Test by two wickets.
The 2nd Test will start on January 3 in Cape Town.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha