Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman, who enjoyed an impressive outing during the first day of the tour match against Leicestershire County where he scored 71 runs and shared a century stand with Azhar Ali, is looking to fulfil his dream of playing at Lord’s. Speaking after stumps on day one, Zaman said that he was preparing for the longer format for the past month and was glad that he was amongst the runs. “I have played a lot of red-ball cricket back home so it was not difficult for me to settle in,” said Zaman. “I had been working on my game for the longer version since last month so it felt really good that I was able to score some runs.”

Playing at the historic Lord’s cricket stadium is a massive occasion for most cricketers and the young left-handed batsmen has his eyes set on a dream debut at Lord’s. “I’m hopeful that team management gives me an opportunity but it depends on how the situation pans out,” said Zaman. “It is a dream to play at Lord’s and I will look to perform well if selected.” He was cautious at the beginning of the session but returned to his naturally aggressive style of play, which earned him his fame in the shorter formats of the game, as the day came to a close.

“I was trying to be aggressive at the start as well but they Leicester were bowling well and it was not easy to score,” said the opening batsmen. “I wanted to see out the new ball and then capitalise once I had gotten my eye in.” Talking about the vacuum left by the departure of stalwarts Misbahul Haq and Younus Khan, Zaman was confident that young players coming through the ranks will take their place, however, he was quick to add that it won’t be an easy task. “The retirements of Misbah and Younus have given younger players the opportunity to step up and take the team forward but we have big shoes to fill. Usaman Salahuddin played a good knock and Saad Ali is also a good player, although he was unlucky not to get some runs,” added Zaman. Pakistan take on England in a two-match Test series after the tour match against Leicestershire. Earlier, Sarfraz Ahmed and co started their tour of Ireland and England with a draw and a win in the first two tour matches, respectively, later beating Ireland by five wickets in the one-off Test.

Published in Daily Times, May 21^st 2018.