Why Pakistan need more batsmen like Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan cricket has a knack of producing raw talents every now and then. In the Champions Trophy 2017, they found another in the form of Fakhar Zaman. Not many had heard of him before the tournament.
With the tournament done and dusted now, the whole cricketing fraternity is going gaga over the left-hander. It was his heroics in the final against arch-rivals India that enabled Pakistan to enforce a thumping victory and become the Champion of Champions.
It was a brave-hearted effort from the 27-year-old who shocked the opposition and made the strong line-up of India look like an average one. His knock of 114 really set the tone for the team who went on to score a massive 338 batting first.
The bowlers then blew away the Indian batsmen and bundled them out for 158 as Pakistan won the match by a massive margin of 180 runs. Fakhar, for his magnificent hundred on the big day, was awarded the Man of the Match.
Also read: ICC Champions Trophy 2017: Five unknown facts about Fakhar Zaman, star of Pakistan's Champions Trophy campaign
Zaman combined brilliant technique with an aggressive batting style to silence the Indian bowlers, something Pakistan have sorely missed in the top order.
Let’s analyse why Pakistan need more batsmen like Fakhar Zaman in the team.
For way too long, it’s only been about Pakistan’s bowling
Pakistan have traditionally been known to possess firepower in the pace department. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar have been the byproducts of the country’s pace factory.
The legacy is still pretty much intact. The way Hasan Ali and Mohammad Amir bowled in the Champions Trophy just goes to show that Pakistan will keep coming up with bowling talents every now and then.
But the batsmen haven’t turned up as impressively as the bowlers which is a reason why the side has been inconsistent in recent times. By having more batsmen like Fakhar in the team, the side will have a more balanced look.
Explosive nature
Fakhar proved in the tournament that by being aggressive at the start, the opposition can be pushed on the back foot straight away. He wasn’t picked in the playing XI against India in the first match during the league stage and Pakistan’s batting suffered massively.
But ever since Fakhar was included in the squad, the whole story of the side took a drastic turn. He scored 31, 50 and 57 runs while chasing in three matches at impressive strike rates of 134.78, 138.89 and 98.28 respectively.
He went after the bowlers from the outset and it took the pressure of the middle order batsmen who, for far too long, have been exposed early on in the innings and have had the task of keeping the scoreboard ticking as well.
To revive the legacy of the nation
Two decades ago, Pakistan boasted an intimidating bowling lineup of Wasim Akam and Waqar Younis but had equally adept players in the top order - Saeed Anwar and Inzamam-ul-Haq. But more recently, they looked a pretty one-dimensional side which was heavy in the bowling department.
The batting had become so weak that they, at times, failed to chase down even mediocre totals. The bowlers would often put in commendable performances but the batting would let the team down; that was the script of Pakistan’s matches more often than not.
There have been a few batsmen who came up and did well for a while but faded away real soon. Nasir Jamshed and Awais Zia were the latest who impressed for a while but could not last too long.
They put a lot of faith on the likes of Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad but very rarely did they stand up to the expectations. They had the talent but if you look at their records, you will be disappointed.
Pakistan had tremendous batting talents like Saeed Anwar, Aamer Sohail, Salim Malik in the past. Fakhar, with his temperament, has brought back some mojo into the batting lineup and he could well end up in the league of the legendary Pakistani batsmen.
For the World Cup 2019
The Champions Trophy triumph has come at the right time. The 2019 ODI World Cup is scheduled to be played in England, the same nation that hosted the Champions Trophy as well. After winning the Champions Trophy, expectations will be high for the biggest event in cricket two years down the line.
This is the time for Pakistan to start building on the team they believe would hold good for two more years. They have to invest in the younger generation of batsmen coming from domestic cricket. They need to bring in fresh talent, test them on the big stage, see how they perform and groom them for the big tournament.
Not many gave Pakistan a chance to win the Champions Trophy but they did the improbable. Fakhar Zaman came in as a surprise. A few more talents like him and you never know, Pakistan could be surprise contenders for the World Cup and end their 27-year wait.