Fakhar Zaman, the celebrated Pakistani cricketer, is optimistic about making his international comeback at the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February and March. Fakhar has been absent from international cricket since Pakistan's early exit from the T20 World Cup in June. He also experienced a setback when he missed out on a central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the first time in eight years. Despite these challenges, Fakhar remains hopeful about his return to the field.
Fakhar's absence has coincided with a successful period for the Pakistan cricket team, which has won three away one-day international (ODI) series against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan. During this time, Fakhar made headlines for criticizing the national cricket administration, particularly in support of Babar Azam. This led the PCB to issue a show-cause notice against him for his social media post. PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi commented on the situation, stating:
“It cannot happen like that. If the selection committee is not playing one player, then other players start tweeting to express their displeasure.”
Fakhar began his international career at the Champions Trophy in 2017, where he delivered a match-winning century against India in the final. Recently, he returned to competitive cricket through the domestic Champions Cup T20 tournament and emerged as the third-highest scorer with 303 runs in 10 games at a strike rate of 132.31.
After the T20 World Cup, Fakhar fell ill and was unable to clear his fitness test, which affected his return to international games. Addressing this issue, he remarked:
“People don’t know that after the T20 World Cup, I got sick.”
Nevertheless, Fakhar's confidence remains unshaken, and he is determined to reclaim his position in the team. He expressed his hope for fellow cricketer Saim Ayub's quick recovery from an injury:
“I hope he [Ayub] will recover quickly.”
Fakhar further praised Ayub's talent and potential in the cricket world:
“I was thinking to call Saim yesterday, just to talk to him about this injury. Believe me, he is such a great player that if he continues to play for the next four-five years, he will be among the top three players in the world.”
