Opener Fakhar Zaman is “upset” after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) omitted him from the list of centrally contracted players, but is not thinking of retiring from international cricket.
Apart from getting dropped from the contract list on Sunday, Zaman, the only Pakistan batter with a double hundred in ODIs, was also not included in the squad for the upcoming white-ball series in Australia. “Look, he is obviously upset and disappointed because the selectors and board have apparently applied different sets of rules while taking fitness tests and clearing players,” a source close to Zaman said.
The source said Fakhar, who has been carrying a knee niggle which first surfaced in 2022, was unhappy because while he did fail to clear the 2km sprint test in given time, some other players had also not met the required time but still were yet picked in the team. “He feels clarity is required from the selectors on why some players are being favoured,” the source added.
On Sunday, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told the media that Zaman's tweet over Babar Azam's selection was a breach of the board's code of conduct for players but it was not the only reason to elbow him out.