Fakhar Zaman Reportedly Requests Two-Month Break from International Cricket

According to sources, Pakistan’s explosive opener, Fakhar Zaman is likely to miss the Australia ODI series after requesting a two-month break from international cricket. According to reports, Fakhar is not fully fit and has requested the break to fully rehabilitate from his injury and come back stronger ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025, which is scheduled to commence in February.

Sources have claimed that Fakhar made the request via an e-mail to the PCB, where he stated that he wants to regain full fitness ahead of a busy white-ball schedule.

Fakhar has been under a lot of scrutiny recently for various reasons. Earlier, Fakhar had voiced his opinion during a meeting with the PCB officials, where he pointed out how the PCB has made conditions difficult for players due to a number of reasons, including not granting them No Objection Certificates (NOC) for franchise leagues.

After reports of his outburst at the PCB, it was reported that the Southpaw is in line to become the new white-ball captain of the Men in Green, after Babar Azam’s resignation.

Those rumors were put to rest almost immediately as Fakhar was served a Show Cause Notice by the PCB for his tweets in favor of Babar Azam, who was dropped from the Test side midway through the Pakistan and England Test series. Fakhar had commented that Babar should have been given a longer rope as he is Pakistan’s most formidable batter.

Fakhar responded to the Show Cause Notice by stating that he will respect the institution but also stated that he sent those tweets in favor of Babar because he thought it was not the right decision to drop the star batter after his contributions to the Pakistan batting unit over the past few years.

While rumors of him being dropped from the ODI side started soon, it is apparent that the swashbuckling opener is currently not fully fit and wants to be at his best when he rejoins the white-ball squad.

Pakistan’s tour of Australia for the three-match ODI and three-match T20I series is scheduled to start on 4 November, just under a week after the conclusion of the Test series against England.