Matthew Hayden: “He’s a great warrior. That’s one thing about Fakhar Zaman he’s one of those characters that is built tough”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia opener Matthew Hayden said Pakistan big-hitting batsman Fakhar Zaman is a “great warrior” who is “built tough”.
Zaman recently made his comeback to the international cricket during the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.
In the three matches he played, he smashed 135 runs, which included a top score of 84, at an average of 45 and a strike-rate of 120.53.
The 34-year-old then took part in the 2025 Champions Trophy and made 24 runs in the opening game against New Zealand.
However, he suffered an oblique injury during the match and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
Despite this, Hayden loves the fact that Zaman is back in the Pakistan team as he knows the Mardan native brings a lot of firepower to the batting line-up.
“He’s a great warrior. That’s one thing about Fakhar Zaman he’s one of those characters that is built tough,” he was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan lost to New Zealand and India in the Champions Trophy, which brought their campaign to an end in the group stage.
Their final match against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Pakistan will now embark on a tour of New Zealand, where they will play five T20Is and three ODIs from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir