Opener Fakhar Zaman is “upset” after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) omitted him from the list of centrally contracted players but is not thinking of retiring from international cricket. Apart from being removed from the contract list on Sunday, Zaman, the only Pakistan batsman with an ODI double century, was also not included in the squad for the upcoming white-ball series in Australia. “Look, he is obviously upset and disappointed that the selectors and the board have apparently applied different sets of rules when conducting fitness tests and clearing players,” said a source close to Zaman.
The source said Fakhar, who has been suffering from a knee problem that first emerged in 2022, was unhappy because while he failed the 2km speed test in a given time, some other players also failed to meet the time required, but they were still chosen. on the team.
“He feels there needs to be clarity from the selectors as to why some players are favoured,” the source added.
On Sunday, PCB president Mohsin Naqvi told the media that Zaman’s tweet about Babar Azam’s selection was a violation of the board’s code of conduct for players, but was not the only reason for expelling him.
Naqvi also cited Zaman’s low fitness standards as a reason to ignore him for the time being.
“A committee will look into the matter of his violation of the code of conduct, but he apparently responded to the show-cause notice issued to him,” Naqvi said.
“But the main reason is that he has not been 100 per cent fit of late and failed the fitness tests. The selectors have told him to rehabilitate himself and pass the aptitude tests,” the PCB chief had said.
But another school of thought believes that some PCB officials have not been pleased that Zaman criticized their performance when the board held a cricket join meeting last month.
They believe Zaman has been punished for his candor at that meeting.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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