Explained: Why Fakhar Zaman has been recalled to Pakistan's Champions Trophy squad after a 15-month absence

The 34-year-old opener replaces Saim Ayub, who misses out through an ankle fracture sustained against South Africa, as Pakistan hope to defend their 2017 crown. Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah and Saud Shakeel have also been recalled to a pace-heavy squad, while Sufiyan Muqeem and Shadab Khan miss out.

How has Zaman previously fared in ODIs?

Zaman has played 83 ODI matches for Pakistan, averaging 46.56 and has scored 11 centuries. His last ODI appearance for Pakistan came in the 2023 World Cup, but he has now returned to the fold largely because of Ayub’s injury, who had scored three centuries in his last five ODI matches.

After scoring 12 against the Netherlands in his first match of the 2023 World Cup, he was dropped until the final three matches. However, on his return, he notched up 81 against Bangladesh, before an unbeaten 126 against New Zealand and just one against England as Pakistan were knocked out in the league phase.

After Imam ul-Haq’s form also tailed off, Pakistan persisted with an opening duo of Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, and have won their three ODI series since, all away, against Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, Shafique has been dropped from the Champions Trophy squad after poor returns in South Africa, so Pakistan will field a completely new opening pair for their first match against New Zealand in Karachi.

Zaman was an integral part of Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy-winning side, playing the final four matches and averaging 63.00 at a strike-rate of 113.00 and was player of the match in the final thanks to his 114 against India. His record at home is not bad either, averaging 47.27 and striking at 88.00 in his 19 ODI innings in Pakistan.

Recently, Zaman has been playing for the Desert Vipers in the ILT20. He averages 27.75 across his nine innings with a high score of 71*. His last List A appearances came in the President’s Cup One Day tournament last October, where he averaged 19.75 across four innings for Pakistan Television.

Why has Zaman not played for Pakistan recently?

Zaman’s last appearance for Pakistan was in the T20 World Cup in June 2024 and he has not been picked by the PCB since he publicly defended Azam in October. After Babar struggled once more in the first Test against England in Rawalpindi, Pakistan dropped their star batter, who had a top score of 41 in his last 18 innings.

Zaman tweeted on X before Azam’s omission was officially confirmed, saying the news was “concerning” and stating “it could send a deeply negative message across the team.” The PCB subsequently issued the show-cause notice for bringing Pakistan cricket into disrepute. Two weeks later, Zaman missed out on a PCB central contract.

Since then, he has missed the white-ball tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. However, he has insisted that this exclusion was due to illness rather than being out of favour. Zaman did not play any cricket between October 14 and December 7, which would explain his absence from the tours in November and December.

What will Zaman’s role be in the Pakistan squad?

Asad Shafiq, a member of the selection panel, confirmed Zaman will open for Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, but his opening partner is up for debate. Both Babar and Saud Shakeel, who has also been recalled, have been touted as potential opening partners.

Despite his lack of form and lack of playing time, especially for Pakistan, Zaman excels on the big stage. Pakistan fans will hope to see him replicate his form at the back end of the 2023 World Cup, as well as his match-winning performances that won them the Champions Trophy back in 2017.