Fakhar Zaman is confident he will return to international cricket after eight months when Pakistan hosts the Champions Trophy next month.
Fakhar has not played international cricket since Pakistan’s first-round exit from the T20 World Cup last June and subsequently missed out on a central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board for the first time in eight years.
“People don’t know that I was sick after the T20 World Cup,” Fakhar explained to the Vipers Voices podcast as he prepared to play ILT20 for the Desert Vipers in the United Arab Emirates. “I was not in the team because of my health condition, but now I am 100% (of course) going to play for Pakistan.”
The veteran opening batsman hit the headlines when Babar Azam criticized the country’s cricket administration shortly before his controversial run out of the last two home Test matches against England late last year due to his inconsistent form in red-ball cricket. I did it. The PCB issued a show cause notice to Fakhar for his social media posts supporting Babar.
Read | PCB moves the 3-series to Lahore and Karachi to indicate readiness for ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The post did not go down well with PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who expressed concern over Fakhar’s health.
“It can’t happen that if the selection committee doesn’t play a player, other players start tweeting to express their displeasure,” Naqvi told reporters at the time. “Players are not allowed to behave this way and we will never allow that to happen. (Fakhar)’s biggest problem is the fitness test, which he couldn’t get rid of.”
In Fakhar’s absence, Pakistan have won three away ODI series in the last two months, beating Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa under new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan.
Back home, Fakhar returned to competitive cricket in the domestic Champions Cup T20 tournament last month and became the third highest scorer with 303 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 132.31.
“The plan was to be in perfect shape and play in the Champions Trophy,” Fakhar said. “I’m lucky to be healthy now. I started with the Champions Trophy in 2017 and it went really well. Now I’m really looking forward to the next edition.”
Fakhar had a memorable tournament in 2017, scoring his hundred in the final against India.
Pakistan’s latest white-ball sensation Saim Ayub had scored two ODI centuries for South Africa before fracturing his right ankle in the second Test in Cape Town last week. Ayub will be sidelined from playing cricket for at least six weeks, putting his participation in the Champions Trophy in doubt.
The PCB brought Ayub from Cape Town to London for treatment on Monday and Fakhar said he was hopeful Ayub would recover in time as Pakistan prepares to host its first major ICC tournament in 29 years next month.
“I hope he (Ayub) recovers quickly,” Fakhar said. “I was thinking of calling Saim yesterday and telling him about this injury. Trust me. “He is such a good player that if he continues to play for the next four to five years, he will be one of the top three players in the world.”
Fakhar will play for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 and was a top target for the franchise’s director of cricket, Tom Moody. Fakhar said he was excited to play alongside West Indies T20 captain Sherfane Rutherford.
“He is one of the best cricketers in the T20 format and I really enjoy watching him bat,” he said. “I am very happy to be part of this team and want to share the crisis with him. “I am very happy to play with him because he is one of the best players.”
