Pakistan’s batting great Younis Khan has backed Fakhar Zaman to be named captain of the Men in Green.
Talking on a local channel’s sports show, the former skipper came out in support of Zaman and named him to be his candidate for the role of captaincy.
"Why can’t Fakhar Zaman be the captain of the side isn’t he a performer? Didn’t he do well in the last 50-over World Cup? Who is that one player who gave us hope? Zaman started the 2023 World Cup in India poorly however, in the second half turned his form around which coincided with Pakistan’s success. His blistering starts at the top kept Pakistan in contention however, it was too little too late for them to go further in the tournament," Younis stated.
Zaman was part of the squad which won the Champions Trophy 2017 under the leadership of Sarfaraz Ahmed. Throughout the tournament, he formed partnerships with Azhar Ali and scored a hundred in the final against India.
"Who is that one player in the side who is leaving his opening slot and batting down at four or five or six? Who is sacrificing his place? Fakhar Zaman! Why won’t you make him the captain?," Younis added.
Pakistan is currently captained by Babar Azam in white-ball cricket and he was leading the team which returned home from the T20 World Cup 2024 after a poor display of performance.
Babar was named captain of the team in 2019 and after the 2023 Cricket World Cup, he stepped down from the role. Shaheen Shah Afridi was given the reins to lead the team in 2024 but just before the T20 World Cup 2024, Babar was renamed captain of the side.
Due to Pakistan’s poor run at the T20 World Cup 2024, Babar and Co. are under fire as they lost against the USA in their opening match of the event and then went down against India. Both of the games were easy to win for Pakistan but the team managed to lose them.
Pakistan managed to defeat Canada and Ireland but that wasn't enough to stay alive in the tournament.
- Fakhar Zaman
- Younis Khan
