Fakhar Zaman shares training pictures amid comeback reports

LAHORE: Left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman on Wednesday, shared pictures of his training amid the reports of him returning to Pakistan’s white-ball team for South Africa tour, scheduled later this year.

According to the details, Fakhar has been training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here for the last two weeks amid conflicting reports regarding his fitness and rehab.

"Pushing limits and breaking barriers! #KeepGoing," Fakhar captioned the pictures.

Fakhar was one of the most notable absentees from Pakistan’s white-ball squad for the ongoing Australia tour and central contracts list.

His exclusion came just days after he was issued a show cause notice by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over his social media post in which he criticized the decision of resting star batter Babar Azam from the remaining two Tests of the three-match series against England.

Last month, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi highlighted Fakhar's fitness issues while addressing his omission from the national team and central contracts.

“There is the tweet issue definitely. But that doesn’t matter as much as his fitness tests. He had two issues: the fitness test and the show-cause notice, which is still pending. That is why he hasn’t been included (in the central contracts list),” Naqvi said.

“If a player is dropped by the selection committee, another player starts tweeting against it. This isn’t allowed and will not be permitted. However, the bigger issue is his fitness test,” he added.

However, in the latest turn of events, it was reported Tuesday that Fakhar Zaman, alongside fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq is likely to return to Pakistan’s white-ball team for South Africa tour.

The green shirts will tour South Africa in December for a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series and a two-match Test series, part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.