Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman: “I want to help my team and I can bat at any position. If my team needs me at No. 4, I will bat there. If they ask me to play at No. 3, I will do it. And if they think I should open the batting, I will be ready for that too”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman has said he is ready to open the batting if the team want him to take up that role.
Zaman has plenty of experience as an opener, but usually comes in at number three or number four.
Regardless of where he is asked to bat, the 35-year-old only has one goal in mind – to help his country win matches.
“I want to help my team and I can bat at any position. If my team needs me at No. 4, I will bat there. If they ask me to play at No. 3, I will do it. And if they think I should open the batting, I will be ready for that too,” Zaman was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
During Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, the Mardan native only scored one run in the one match he played.
He then toured Bangladesh with the Pakistan team and made 52 runs in two T20Is at an average of 26 and a strike-rate of 123.80.
As for the three-match T20I series against the West Indies, Zaman ended up with 48 runs in two games at an average of 24 and a strike-rate of 111.62.
Next up was the T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, where he accumulated 155 runs, which included a top score of 77 not out, at an average of 38.75 and a strike-rate of 138.39.
Pakistan are now featuring in the 2025 Asia Cup, which is being played in the UAE.
In two games, Zaman has struck 40 runs at an average of 40 and a strike-rate of 129.03.
The men in green began their campaign with a 93-run win over Oman before losing to India by seven wickets.
Their next match will be against the UAE on September 17 in Dubai.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem