Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman, born in Katlang, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made his first-class debut for Karachi Blues in the year 2013. He moved to Karachi at the age of 16 and joined the navy. After a year long tryst, he switched his attention to cricket and has managed to sustain that since then.

A left-handed batsman and a handy part-time slow left-armer, his methods suit the limited overs format. He had a fantastic run in the 2016 edition of the Pakistan Cup where he scored 297 runs in five games including 2 fifties and a century. Thus, ended up as the second highest run-getter behind Ahmed Shehzad. His stroke-filled 115 in the finale helped his team - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to win the title.

Strong performances in almost every format at the domestic level meant he has a permanent spot in the Lahore Qalandars side for the second edition of the PSL. His 'see the ball, hit the ball' approach makes him a crowd puller and a package that is hard to ignore in shorter formats of the game. His pyrotechnics earned him a spot in Pakistan's squad for the Champions Trophy in mid 2017.

He grabbed the opportunity with both hands by being the Man of the final courtesy a sparkling ton in the finale against arch rivals India. Pakistan became the latest team to win the Champions Trophy and 252 runs in 4 games made Fakhar Zaman a poster boy in the Pakistani cricket fraternity. He was sidelined for the 1st league game against India but then was handed a debut against South Africa in the second game. A quickfire 31 off 23 balls started his international dream and he never looked back post that. Fifties against Lanka and England and then the icing was the ton in the finals.

Due to his lack of consistency, he has been in and out of the side often, but when he gets going, he can destroy best of the bowling attacks single-handedly. In the shortest format he can be lethal and with more consistency he can achieve greater heights representing Pakistan.

Fakhar was persisted with for the 2023 ODI WC but wasn't the first choice opener and Abdullah Shafique and Imam opened. However, given a chance late in the tournament, Fakhar lit up the tourney for Pakistan with back-to-back Man of the Match performances against Bangladesh and NZ. He was not favoured for the ODIs post that but was back in the squad for the 2025 CT.