Pakistan’s star batter, Fakhar Zaman has been dropped by PCB from the list of centrally contracted players. This comes after Zaman raised his voice when the former Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the second and third Test against England. Fakhar received a show cause notice from the Board after he severely criticised the selection committee openly after Babar Azam’s snub.
He openly compared Azam with Virat Kohli when Team India and fans supported Kohli during his lean phase in between 2020 and 2022.
“It’s concerning to hear suggestions about dropping Babar Azam. India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively,” Fakhar wrote on ‘X’.
He added: “If we are considering sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the best Pakistan has ever produced, it could send a deeply negative message across the team. There is still time to avoid pressing the panic button; we should focus on safeguarding our key players rather than undermining them.”
Shaheen Shah Afridi has also been dropped from Grade A to Grade B contract
Pakistan fast bowler, Shaheen Shah Afridi has also been dropped from the Grade A to Grade B contract. However, Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have retained their places in the Grade A contract.
List of centrally contracted players:
Category A (2): Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan
Category D (11): Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Khan.
