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Explained: Why Pakistan Picked Fakhar Zaman Over Sahibzada Farhan In 1st T20I Vs Bangladesh

Anurag Dasgupta

Why Pakistan snubbed Farhan for Fakhar [Source: @2Mirhamzamughal/x.com]Why Pakistan snubbed Farhan for Fakhar [Source: @2Mirhamzamughal/x.com]

The wait is over as Pakistan is set to collide against Bangladesh in the first T20I of the three-match series on Sunday. Both teams recently met in the T20I series when the event was hosted in Pakistan, and the hosts emerged victorious in a one-sided battle. The Tigers, however, defeated Sri Lanka recently and will be oozing with confidence.

The toss took place, and Bangladesh decided to bowl first, keeping in mind the dew and the rain factor. The decision was spot on, but one decision that raised eyebrows was the absence of Sahibzada Farhan in the playing XI. The power-packed player looked brilliant against the Tigers in the last T2OI series, but Pakistan preferred Fakhar Zaman over him in the first game.

Despite scoring a brilliant fifty on his last T20I assignment, he was neglected and the Men in Green went ahead with an injury-prone player in the playing XI. Why did the team management take this decision? Here's the reason.

Why Pakistan preferred Fakhar over Sahibzada Farhan?

Fakhar Zaman is Pakistan's potent weapon in T20I format and is their biggest match-winner in white-ball cricket. Despite playing just one T20I match since the T20 World Cup last year, Pakistan has shown faith in him due to his ability to win matches from any situation. He has 1849 runs in T20Is, with a strike rate of 132, which is more than that of Sahibzada (119.25).

Plus, with Saim Ayub being the young opener on the side, Pakistan wants to pair him with an experienced player, and Fakhar ticks all the boxes as the Men in Green gear up for the T20 World Cup next year.

Sahibzada Farhan scored a fifty in the last T20I series vs Bangladesh, but his overall T20I numbers are not promising as he has just scored 161 runs in 11 matches.

Pakistan playing XI Vs Bangladesh

1 Fakhar Zaman, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Mohammad Haris (wk), 4 Hasan Nawaz, 5 Salman Agha (capt), 6 Mohammad Nawaz, 7 Khushdil Shah, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Abbas Afridi, 10 Salman Mirza, 11 Abrar Ahmed