Retirement murmurs brushed aside by Fakhar Zaman with Pakistan batsman saying “There’s nothing to it” after early exit.
Retirement talk around Fakhar Zaman has been rife after his injury. But those talks have been quashed by the man himself.
In the first over of Pakistan’s opening match against New Zealand in Karachi, Fakhar, the hero of the team’s 2017 Champions Trophy victory with a century in the final, strained his oblique muscle while chasing a ball. He left the pitch right away and returned later, however he was eventually limited to batting at number four rather than his typical opening position.
During a 41-ball 24, he clearly laboured with the injury as Pakistan lost by 60 runs. Given the uncertainty surrounding his introduction into the team and the fact that he turns 35 in April, Fakhar was upset in the dressing room following the dismissal. It was also not lost on him that this might have been his final game for Pakistan.
But talking to PCB digital, Fakhar confirmed that he was not going anywhere. “I heard about this [retirement rumours] a lot and even my friends messaged me about it, but there’s nothing to it,” he said. “The ODI format is my favourite format. Yes, with my thyroid, there was a thing that I could take more time getting back into it. But I want to play T20s, ODIs, even Tests again. As far as my comeback is concerned, I spoke to the doctor and I can start playing cricket again within the month.”
Since Pakistan was ousted in the group round of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies in June, Fakhar had not participated in any international cricket matches. Pakistan was eliminated before the knockout stages of the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he last participated in an ODI.
However, he had not been included in Pakistan’s primary contracts prior to this tournament. Additionally, following a tweet he posted in September of last year questioning the decision to remove Babar Azam from the Test team, he was given a show-cause notice. Later, Fakhar was one of the most vocal players during a “connection camp” that chairman Mohsin Naqvi held to encourage senior players to voice their opinions. He specifically targeted a top official for harsh criticism.
When Pakistan lost to India, they were eliminated from the Champions Trophy. Imam-ul-Haq took Fakhar’s post, which only increased criticism of their upper order’s ostensibly antiquated practices. The main focus of both losses was on the arduous innings of captain Mohammad Rizwan (46 off 77 balls against India) and Babar (64 off 90 balls against New Zealand), the latter of which set a below-par target and the former of which stymied momentum in a major chase.