LAHORE: Pakistan’s newly-appointed interim white-ball head coach Aqib Javed on Wednesday, opened up on the prospects of left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman’s return to the national team.
Aqib, while speaking to the media here at Gaddafi Stadium, was asked to provide an update on Fakhar’s recovery and also whether the left-handed batter is under consideration for future assignments.
The newly-appointed head coach highlighted ‘match-winner’ Fakhar’s services to the team and shared that the national men’s selection committee is in touch with him.
"Fakhar is a match-winner, he has performed for Pakistan for many years. He was having some fitness problems,” shared Aqib.
“We are in communication with Fakhar. Whenever he gets fit, the selection committee will definitely consider him for selection and you’ll see him [playing] in the future,” he added.
Fakhar was one of the most notable absentees from Pakistan’s white-ball squads for the recently-concluded Australia tour and central contracts list.
His exclusion came just days after he was issued a show cause notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over his social media post in which he criticised the decision of resting star batter Babar Azam from the remaining two Tests of the three-match series against England.
Last month, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had cited Fakhar's fitness issues while addressing his omission from the national team and central contracts.
“There is the tweet issue definitely. But that doesn’t matter as much as his fitness tests. He had two issues: the fitness test and the show-cause notice, which is still pending. That is why he hasn’t been included (in the central contracts list),” Naqvi said.
“If a player is dropped by the selection committee, another player starts tweeting against it. This isn’t allowed and will not be permitted. However, the bigger issue is his fitness test,” he added.
However, in the latest turn of events, it was reported earlier this month that Fakhar Zaman, alongside fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq is likely to return to Pakistan’s white-ball team for South Africa tour.
The green shirts will tour South Africa in December for a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series and a two-match Test series, part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.
- Fakhar Zaman
