opening batter Fakhar Zamanrecently criticized the withdrawal of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Babar Azam He has been removed from the Test team’s list of centrally contracted players for the 2024-25 season. After Pakistan’s crushing defeat against England in the first Test, the PCB’s new selection committee took the courageous decision to drop unwell players, including Babar, from the squad for the remaining two Tests. Fakhar, however, made a lengthy post on social media accusing the PCB of the same.
Fakhar compared Babar’s drought to that of India. Virat KohliReacting to Fakhar’s omission from the list of centrally contracted players, fans suggested that the player may have been penalized for supporting Babar.
Imagine losing a player of Fakhar’s caliber to Australia. Imagine dropping a player with bouncy speed in Australia on a pitch that suits him. Sure he could have been a little more political, but you can’t punish him for voicing his opinion by tying him up from the middle of the deal.
— Hannan (@withhannan) October 27, 2024
Fakhar Zaman sacrificed his career for Babar Azam. He may never play for Pakistan again.@FakharZamanLive @babarazam258 pic.twitter.com/pN0ZA9fgaF
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) October 27, 2024
Fakhar brought this upon himself. He acted like a retired cricketer expressing his opinion on not selecting Babar Azam, who is under contract and underperformed. Stupid move.
I hope Babar Azam tweets for him https://t.co/WRryMlCngf
— LH (@Edwardian842) October 27, 2024
Meanwhile, in a press conference on Sunday, PCB Secretary Mohsin Naqvi mentioned and clarified the reason why Fakhar was left out of the central contract list.
Naqvi confirmed that the PCB had sent a show-cause notice to Fakhar, which is currently under review, but the decision was taken to remove him from the central contract list due to concerns about his health.
“There are issues regarding his tweets, but they are not important as a test of his fitness. There is one showcase notice pending regarding him. This is why we did not put his name on the central contract list. Yes,” Mohsin Naqvi said.
“If the selection committee doesn’t appoint a player, then other players start tweeting and expressing their displeasure, that’s not possible. We cannot allow players to function like this, and we “I will never allow that to happen. His main problem is his fitness, a test he has not been able to clear,” he added.
On Sunday, Mohammad Rizwan was named Pakistan’s ODI and T20 captain, replacing Babar Azam, as selectors announced the squad for the white-ball tour to Australia and Zimbabwe starting November 4.
Salman Ali Agha has been appointed vice-captain for all future ODI and T20 international duties.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and an equal number of T20Is on the tour of Australia, starting with the first ODI in Melbourne on November 4, which will be Rizwan’s first assignment as captain.
Agha will lead Zimbabwe’s T20I team as Rizwan is rested under a workload management plan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
Topics mentioned in this article
Leave a comment