Shaheen wary of Fakhar threat in National Champions Cup final against Greens
Gold captain Shaheen inists tournament served 'purpose' of testing Pakistan's pool of players ahead of World Cup
MULTAN: Pakistan Gold captain Shaheen Shah Afridi has acknowledged the threat Pakistan Greens' in-form opener Fakhar Zaman poses ahead of their National Champions Cup 2026 final, scheduled to be played here at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Zaman has been instrumental in the Greens' success at the four-team tournament thus far, having registered two back-to-back centuries, one of which coincidentally came against the Shaheen-led Gold in the league stage.
The 36-year-old, as a result, sits atop the leading run-scorers list of the ongoing National Champions Cup 2026, having accumulated 238 runs in two matches at an astounding average of 119.
Although the Greens rested the left-handed opener for their last league-stage fixture against Pakistan Blues, they comfortably prevailed by 192 runs and qualify for the final on the back of an unbeaten run.
Speaking to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Digital on the eve of the National Champions Cup final, Gold captain Shaheen acknowledged the Greens' dominance in the domestic tournament, while also hailing Zaman's contributions, stating that the opener made matches "one-sided" with his batting.
"The first two games were not in favour but we then sensed an opportunity to qualify and had planned to bowl first to make the most of it. Our players put in a lot of effort against Whites. The Greens are playing really well and Fakhar's batting has made matches one-sided," Shaheen stated.
Shaheen, who is also the Pakistan ODI captain, also asserted that the ongoing four-team tournament has served its "purpose" of helping test their pool of players as part of the Green Shirts' preparations for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
"The tournament has been very good and we have seen a couple of close games as well. It has helped us gauge the fitness of players as well. The tournament has also served its purpose of helping us test out pool of players as part of the ODI World Cup preparations."
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