stevewittry
Tape Ball Regular
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2007
- Runs
- 567
If we've to put together a list of players who're ODI only specialist, there will ONLY BE a SINGLE name in that list and that is one of my favorite cricketers from Pak - Fakhar Zaman. This is a unique record for someone as stellar or dynamic as Fakhar is as an opening batter. I'm unable to think of any other cricketer - past or present who can ONLY BE a ODI specialist but being a failure in the other formats.
I've been following his cricket since 2017 Champions trophy. The one thing I've found in his batting is his big match / back to the wall performances against strong oppositions and all of these signature innings have come in ODI. Be it the match winning 100 against arch rival in the Champions Trophy final or the back to wall 190 odd against South Africa in South Africa (almost snatching a victory) or the super human knock against New Zealand in the do or die encounter after chasing 400 odd. These are exceptional knocks coming from a champion ODI batter. However, he hasn't been able to replicate anything close either in the T20 or test matches. For a batter of this caliber and his ability to hit the big sixes at will, I was almost sure that T20 will be a walk in the park. With a batting average close to 50 in ODIs (11 100s all impactful knocks) and strike rate of 94 with a high percentage of boundary hitting, these are stellar records for a Pak batter with a brittle / uncertain middle order. But as it turned out he hasn't been able to translate his ODI success to the shorter formats or not able to impose himself in the test arena either.
I wanted your responses on what is it that Fakhar could have done differently to have been successful across formats, given his potential? In my opinion, he should have been an opening batsman consistently in both the shorter formats and a number-4 test batter. This would have given him enough opportunity to express himself better given the field restrictions in the shorter formats where he can maximize his returns. The management should have given him chances in this position in order to do better justice to his talent. He was surprisingly ignored during the recent World cup 2023.
He has demonstrated a positive attitude while at the crease and would have been a good captaincy material for the shorter formats.
Wanted your opinion on Fakhar as a batter and how he can take his game to the next level.
I've been following his cricket since 2017 Champions trophy. The one thing I've found in his batting is his big match / back to the wall performances against strong oppositions and all of these signature innings have come in ODI. Be it the match winning 100 against arch rival in the Champions Trophy final or the back to wall 190 odd against South Africa in South Africa (almost snatching a victory) or the super human knock against New Zealand in the do or die encounter after chasing 400 odd. These are exceptional knocks coming from a champion ODI batter. However, he hasn't been able to replicate anything close either in the T20 or test matches. For a batter of this caliber and his ability to hit the big sixes at will, I was almost sure that T20 will be a walk in the park. With a batting average close to 50 in ODIs (11 100s all impactful knocks) and strike rate of 94 with a high percentage of boundary hitting, these are stellar records for a Pak batter with a brittle / uncertain middle order. But as it turned out he hasn't been able to translate his ODI success to the shorter formats or not able to impose himself in the test arena either.
I wanted your responses on what is it that Fakhar could have done differently to have been successful across formats, given his potential? In my opinion, he should have been an opening batsman consistently in both the shorter formats and a number-4 test batter. This would have given him enough opportunity to express himself better given the field restrictions in the shorter formats where he can maximize his returns. The management should have given him chances in this position in order to do better justice to his talent. He was surprisingly ignored during the recent World cup 2023.
He has demonstrated a positive attitude while at the crease and would have been a good captaincy material for the shorter formats.
Wanted your opinion on Fakhar as a batter and how he can take his game to the next level.