KARACHI: The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Monday that although opener Fakhar Zaman is “upset” that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) did not include him on the list of centrally contracted players, he is not considering quitting international cricket.
Fakhar, the only Pakistan batter to score a double hundred in one-day internationals, was not included in the squad for the upcoming white-ball series in Australia, in addition to being removed from the contract list on Sunday.
A source close to Fakhar told PTI, “Look, he is obviously upset and disappointed because the selectors and board have apparently applied different sets of rules when taking fitness tests and clearing players.”
According to the source, Fakhar, who has been suffering from a knee injury since 2022, was dissatisfied because, despite failing the two-kilometer sprint test within the allotted time, other players also failed the test but were still selected for the team.
The source went on to say that “he feels clarity is required from the selectors on why some players are being favoured.”
Mohsin Naqvi, chairman of the PCB, stated on Sunday that while Fakhar’s tweet regarding Babar Azam’s selection was a violation of the board’s code of conduct for players, it was not the only reason to exclude him.
Mohsin also cited Fakhar’s poor fitness as a reason to ignore him for the time being.
Mohsin stated, “A committee will look into the matter of him breaching the code of conduct, but he has apparently responded to the showcause notice sent to him.” However, the primary reason is that he has failed fitness tests and has not been 100% fit in recent times. The PCB chief had stated that the selectors had instructed him to rehab and pass the fitness tests.
However, a different school of thought holds that some PCB officials have reacted negatively to Fakhar’s criticism of their performance at the Connection Camp the month before. They believe that Fakhar has been punished in that meeting for being open.
