Ravichandran Ashwin: “I am glad Fakhar Zaman is back”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin admitted he is glad to see big-hitting batsman Fakhar Zaman back in the Pakistan team.
Zaman had not played international cricket since the 2024 T20 World Cup until he made his comeback in the recent ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa.
In the three matches he played, the 34-year-old struck 135 runs, which included a top score of 84, at an average of 45 and a strike-rate of 120.53.
Zaman was then involved in the 2025 Champions Trophy and scored 24 runs in the opening game against New Zealand.
However, he suffered an oblique injury in the match and was subsequently ruled out for the remainder of the tournament.
Despite this setback, Ashwin acknowledged that it was good to see the Mardan native playing for Pakistan again.
“I am glad Fakhar Zaman is back,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Sports Tak.
Pakistan failed to make it out of the group stage in the Champions Trophy as they lost to New Zealand and India, while their final game against Bangladesh was washed out.
The men in green 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
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