PCB To Drop Fakhar Zaman From ODI Squad For Australia Tour Due To Babar Azam Support - Report


Fakhar Zaman likely to be dropped for Australia tour (@ImTanujSingh/X.com)Fakhar Zaman likely to be dropped for Australia tour (@ImTanujSingh/X.com)

Fakhar Zaman continues to face scrutiny, and his recent actions could potentially lead to his exclusion from Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of Australia. Earlier this month, the 34-year-old cricketer expressed his support for Babar Azam after the latter was dropped from Pakistan’s playing XI against England.

In a viral tweet, Fakhar threw shade at the PCB and questioned their decision-making. However, Fakhar’s public criticism ended up drawing much flak from the board, as the PCB subsequently issued him a show-cause notice to explain his actions.

Fakhar Zaman in more trouble before AUS tour

Apart from Fakhar Zaman’s troubles with the PCB regarding the recently-issued show-cause notice, the blistering Pakistani batter also seems to be undergoing problems with the knee. The cricketer recently failed a fitness test upon returning from the CPL 2024 season in the Caribbean.

As reported by Cricket Pakistan, the 34-year-old failed to complete his tasking of making a two-kilometer run within eight minutes. While several reports indicate that the dashing opening batter is dealing with knee issues, he recently played President's Cup Grade-I (1-Day) matches for Pakistan Television team, thus placing an additional strain on his knee that could lead to an injury.

Apparently, not long ago, Fakhar Zaman also made some candid remarks during a connection camp about PCB’s strict new policies over handing out No Objection Certificates (NOC) to players for overseas T20 league participation.

While many have considered Fakhar to be a potential captaincy replacement of Pakistan’s white-ball setup after Babar Azam, as of now, even his place in the squad is not guaranteed and the attacking opener might well be dropped for the upcoming tour of Australia.

The Pakistan cricket team will be touring Australia in November for a series of three ODIs and three T20I matches.