Mohammad Rizwan: “From the conversations we’ve had among ourselves, everyone is hopeful about him because he is something different for Pakistan – he’s a character and a game-changer”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
ODI captain Mohammad Rizwan wants batsman Fakhar Zaman in the national team as “he is something different for Pakistan”.
Zaman recently made his international comeback in the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he scored 135 runs in three matches, which included a top score of 84, at an average of 45 and a strike-rate of 120.53.
He then proceeded to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy and made 24 runs in the opening game against New Zealand before missing the remainder of the tournament with an oblique injury.
The injury ended up ruling the 35-year-old out of Pakistan’s white-ball tour of New Zealand, where they lost the T20I series 4-1 and the ODIs 3-0.
Despite the injury setback, Rizwan stressed the need to get the Mardan native back in the national side as soon as possible since he is a “game-changer”.
“From the conversations we’ve had among ourselves, everyone is hopeful about him because he is something different for Pakistan – he’s a character and a game-changer,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Zaman is back in action right now as he is representing the Lahore Qalandars in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
In his first three games against Islamabad United, the Quetta Gladiators and the Karachi Kings, he has posted scores of 1, 67 and 76 respectively.
PSL 10 began on April 11 and will finish on May 18.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Daryl Mitchell, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain)
- Diamond: Haris Rauf, Kusal Perera, Sikandar Raza
- Gold: Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan
- Silver: Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, David Wiese, Muhammad Akhlaq, Rishad Hossain
- Emerging: Mohammad Azab, Momin Qamar
- Supplementary: Muhammad Naeem, Sam Billings, Salman Ali Mirza, Tom Curran