Pakistan opening batter Fakhar Zaman has impressive numbers in white-ball cricket, with him being one of the most experienced limited-overs batters in the country.
How many Test matches has Fakhar Zaman played?
The same is not true for him in the Test format, where he has only appeared thrice, never after 2019. Even when the side struggled to stick to a constant opener in red-ball cricket, Fakhar was not among the contenders.
Speaking to PCB’s Straight Drive Podcast, Fakhar said while Test cricket remains his favourite, he feels the team needs him more in limited overs.
“To be honest, I like red-ball cricket a lot. But if you ask me what is closest to my heart, it is definitely red-ball cricket. While my favourite format is ODI cricket, I really love red-ball cricket, both playing it and watching it,” he said.
The three Test games that Fakhar played came against Australia and South Africa. In his first-ever Test innings, which was against Australia, he top-scored with 94 runs. He followed that up with a 66 in the second innings and helped Pakistan win the game by a whopping 373 runs.
Better suited to ODIs
But contrary to his bright start, the next two games weren’t as impressive. He could only score 32 runs in the next four innings. Fakhar revealed the coaches told him to continue in the format but he felt there were other batters better suited to the format than him.
“I have actually played three Test matches. Even though I later spoke to the coaches and they told me that I should play Test cricket, personally, I believe there are better players than me in the format who have performed much better than I have in domestic cricket and are better suited to the Pakistan team.
“So, let those guys play. Why should I take their spot?”
“I know I am suited to ODIs, so obviously I should be there. But if I feel that there are better players than me for Test cricket who can perform well for the Pakistan team over a longer period, then they should be the ones playing,” he concluded.
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