“100%, I will play for Pakistan (again),” Fakhar, 34, told Viper Voices Podcast. “Actually, many people don’t know this, but after the World T20 I fell ill and due to my medical condition I was not fit, so I was not part of the team.
“But now I [have] “I have recovered 100% and you will see me in the next white-ball series that Pakistan plays.”
Fakhar, once an integral part of Pakistan’s white-ball set-up, has not played international cricket since the 2024 T20 World Cup last June in the US and West Indies, where Pakistan were eliminated in the qualifying phase. groups. He last played an ODI in the 2023 ODI World Cup but is hoping to return for the Champions Trophy at home.
“That was in the back of my mind, and I’m grateful, and I’m lucky to be fit now. I started from the 2017 Champions Trophy and it went very well and now I’m also very excited for the next edition. I spoke to the selectors, with the coach and everyone wanted me to play in the Champions Trophy.
“I hope and believe that he will recover quickly, and yesterday I was thinking about calling Saim just to talk to him about this injury,” Fakhar said. “Believe me, he is a great player who if he continues to play for the next four or five years, he will be at the top and he will be among the three best players in the world.”
“In Pakistan we have three of the best players in the world – Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub – so sometimes I feel lucky to be in the team even if I can’t take my place in the team as an opener.”
Fakhar Zaman
While Fakhar wants to open the batting for Pakistan, he may not find a place there, with Ayub, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan already at the top of the order.
“In Pakistan we have three of the best players in the world – Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Saim Ayub, so sometimes I feel lucky to be in the team even if I can’t take my place in the team as an opener,” he said. Fakhar. “If the team has faith in me and wants me to bat fourth or fifth, that makes a lot of sense, because for me the team always comes first and I play where the team wants me to play, but I always prefer to start.” “.
Fakhar is currently preparing for his first season in ILT20, where he will participate with the 2023 runners-up, Desert Vipers. “There are many Pakistani players who have played for the Desert Vipers, including Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Azam Khan and Mohammad Amir, and they speak highly of this team, the environment, the management, the way they play cricket and the how they play. what their mindset is,” Fakhar said. “So when I got the offer, without discussing it with anyone, I said ‘yes, I would love to play for this team.'”
The ILT20 begins on January 11, when Dubai Capitals take on MI Emirates in Dubai.
