Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman will be representing Lahore Qalandars in the ninth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL). He recently announced his desired batting position in the PSL. Fakhar Zaman was asked to bat at No.4 for Pakistan in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand. He started as an opener in T20Is for Pakistan but was then asked to bat at No.3 and he accepted his role gracefully in the shortest format.
Fakhar Zaman was demoted to No.4 when Pakistan team management removed Babar Azam from opening the batting and gave him the No.3 slot. Fakhar Zaman has shown great team spirit by agreeing to change his batting position. According to him playing in the XI is more important than maintaining your batting position. However, for PSL he has selected a desired slot to bat and would like to bat at that specific position in the league for Lahore Qalandars.
Fakhar Zaman talked about the difference between the Pakistan Cricket team and PSL franchises and how the roles of players differ in both circumstances. While talking to the Media in Lahore on Sunday, Fakhar Zaman expressed his preference for opening the batting for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League this season. However, he was ready to contribute towards the team in any position.
“I am prepared to bat at any position, but my preference is to open in the PSL. The dynamics within the Pakistan team are different; there we have players from all across the country. You cannot compare the Pakistan team with the PSL franchise,” he further added.
Fakhar Zaman Will Play Under His National Team Skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi
Lahore Qalandars will be led by Pakistan’s T20 skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi and he has led this team to two consecutive title wins making them the only PSL team to have defended their title successfully. They defeated Multan Sultans in a thrilling final in the last season to claim their second PSL title. Shaheen’s success with Lahore Qalandars led to the Board appointing him as the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in the shortest format.
However, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s first T20 series as a skipper was a disaster as Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 1-4 in the five-match T20 series. Shaheen Shah Afridi will be opening the bowling in the PSL for Lahore Qalandars with his national team teammate Haris Rauf. Fakhar Zaman can be seen opening the batting for Lahore Qalandars with Abdullah Shafique as the two form the formidable opening pair of the Lahore Qalandars.
The PSL is scheduled to commence on February 17, Saturday and the first match will be played between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United. The defending champions will kick off the new season of PSL and it will be interesting to see whether Lahore Qalandars are able to win the competition for the third consecutive time under the leadership of Shaheen Shah Afridi and with notable players like Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf and Abdullah Shafique in the franchise.
