One thing about Fakhar Zaman that has really impressed me...

[RedwoodOriginal]

One thing that really impressed me about Fakhar was how uncontent he was with his knock yesterday. You could see it in the post-match presentation where he was clearly disappointed that he couldn't finish the game. He noted that he wasn't bothered about missing out on a score of 200, but rather disappointed about not winning the match. He even said he would have been much happier had he scored less and won the game

Even when he scored his century he didn't take off his helmet and celebrate, and instead simply nodded to the gallery knowing that the job wasn't done. Even with his dismissal he wanted to take ownership himself for getting duped by de Kock eventhough getting distracted and having a brain fade is perfectly understandable for a batsman that has been at the crease from ball one. And whether we think de Kock's actions were smart or not it goes without saying that they were incredibly underhanded, deceptive and not in the spirit of the game. I'm not bringing up the rules here because clearly no one on the field was aware of them.

These little things may have been ignored by most people but to me they say alot about his character. To me the little things are the big things. And it's refreshing to see a player whose primary focus isn't just on winning the game for the team but also on taking responsibility for his failures.

And if there's one thing we can all admit its that Fakhar was playing for the win even when the game seemed done and dusted and Pakistan were looking at the prospect of a heavy defeat. For me that's something that deserves to be commended because he easily could have finished not out on 150 if he wanted to considering the criticism surrounding him. He was set, there were no demons in the pitch and the South Africans couldn't get him out. But the fact that he didn't shows he is a team player through and through.

All I know is that and when you find a guy like that who has character, who is mentally tough, who is supremely fit and who has the ability to go after the bowlers; you have to hold onto him.

 

[Major]

Yes, this is what i also noticed aswell. I like such players who know that the job isnt done and doesnt go around jumping like an idiot to celebrate meaningless achievements.

However, im not gonna jump on the fakhar zaman bandwagon just based on one perforamance. He needs to be consisstent.

When razzaq played that blinder, he only managed one fifty in the next couple of games he played and ended up becoming a reliability. Razzaq would had been dropped after the SA series as he disnt had good performance uptill that match.

Fakhar needs to show consisstency now, he has cemented his spot for next couple of games

 

[rhony]

One thing that really impressed me about Fakhar was how uncontent he was with his knock yesterday. You could see it in the post-match presentation where he was clearly disappointed that he couldn't finish the game. He noted that he wasn't bothered about missing out on a score of 200, but rather disappointed about not winning the match. He even said he would have been much happier had he scored less and won the game

Even when he scored his century he didn't take off his helmet and celebrate, and instead simply nodded to the gallery knowing that the job wasn't done. Even with his dismissal he wanted to take ownership himself for getting duped by de Kock eventhough getting distracted and having a brain fade is perfectly understandable for a batsman that has been at the crease from ball one. And whether we think de Kock's actions were smart or not it goes without saying that they were incredibly underhanded, deceptive and not in the spirit of the game. I'm not bringing up the rules here because clearly no one on the field was aware of them.

These little things may have been ignored by most people but to me they say alot about his character. To me the little things are the big things. And it's refreshing to see a player whose primary focus isn't just on winning the game for the team but also on taking responsibility for his failures.

And if there's one thing we can all admit its that Fakhar was playing for the win even when the game seemed done and dusted and Pakistan were looking at the prospect of a heavy defeat. For me that's something that deserves to be commended because he easily could have finished not out on 150 if he wanted to considering the criticism surrounding him. He was set, there were no demons in the pitch and the South Africans couldn't get him out. But the fact that he didn't shows he is a team player through and through.

All I know is that and when you find a guy like that who has character, who is mentally tough, who is supremely fit and who has the ability to go after the bowlers; you have to hold onto him.

Dont think there was ever any doubt about his commitment. He's non controversial. The question always was about his technique and consistency.

 

[Napa]

One thing that really impressed me about Fakhar was how uncontent he was with his knock yesterday. You could see it in the post-match presentation where he was clearly disappointed that he couldn't finish the game. He noted that he wasn't bothered about missing out on a score of 200, but rather disappointed about not winning the match. He even said he would have been much happier had he scored less and won the game

Even when he scored his century he didn't take off his helmet and celebrate, and instead simply nodded to the gallery knowing that the job wasn't done. Even with his dismissal he wanted to take ownership himself for getting duped by de Kock eventhough getting distracted and having a brain fade is perfectly understandable for a batsman that has been at the crease from ball one. And whether we think de Kock's actions were smart or not it goes without saying that they were incredibly underhanded, deceptive and not in the spirit of the game. I'm not bringing up the rules here because clearly no one on the field was aware of them.

These little things may have been ignored by most people but to me they say alot about his character. To me the little things are the big things. And it's refreshing to see a player whose primary focus isn't just on winning the game for the team but also on taking responsibility for his failures.

And if there's one thing we can all admit its that Fakhar was playing for the win even when the game seemed done and dusted and Pakistan were looking at the prospect of a heavy defeat. For me that's something that deserves to be commended because he easily could have finished not out on 150 if he wanted to considering the criticism surrounding him. He was set, there were no demons in the pitch and the South Africans couldn't get him out. But the fact that he didn't shows he is a team player through and through.

All I know is that and when you find a guy like that who has character, who is mentally tough, who is supremely fit and who has the ability to go after the bowlers; you have to hold onto him.

Good attitude for a player. Hope he has more successes moving forward.

 

[gazza619]

The Navy background has really helped him with this kind of attitude I guess. I was shocked at his fitness!

I just sincerely hope this is the start of something new for Fakhar and brings some consistency to his game. We don't have many power hitting options these days and Fakhar is a must! If Haider can fire in the middle order we will have a strong and complete batting line up.

 

[ARK Rafay]

Even when he scored his century he didn't take off his helmet and celebrate, and instead simply nodded to the gallery knowing that the job wasn't done.

Tells you about the character that he is and he puts his temperament and capacity gauge much higher than just getting a 100.

 

[Abid Z]

Agree with the op that Fakhar played an absolutely gem of an innings. Timed it to perfection lined up bowlers to target as well as the shorter boundary, Maintaining composure and concentration while wickets were tumbling all around him. It highlighted two things..firstly it’s good to see a batsman other than Babar stepping up but more importantly how completely abject our middle to late order is that nobody could hang around to support him. There’s a dire need to shake up the middle order..asif Ali and possibly Danish just don’t belong here.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Yes, this is what i also noticed aswell. I like such players who know that the job isnt done and doesnt go around jumping like an idiot to celebrate meaningless achievements.

However, im not gonna jump on the fakhar zaman bandwagon just based on one perforamance. He needs to be consisstent.

When razzaq played that blinder, he only managed one fifty in the next couple of games he played and ended up becoming a reliability. Razzaq would had been dropped after the SA series as he disnt had good performance uptill that match.

Fakhar needs to show consisstency now, he has cemented his spot for next couple of games

Dont think there was ever any doubt about his commitment. He's non controversial. The question always was about his technique and consistency.

A player like Fakhar will always struggle to find consistency based on the way he plays. He has a bit of that Sehwag quality. When he’s out cheaply you feel like mocking his technique. But when he gets going he’s one of the most destructive players around. I think its us fans who need to adapt our way of analyzing players. This guy is unique and his stats don’t lie.

You can criticize his technique all you want but as unconventional as it is, at the end of the day it works for him.

 

[Major]

A player like Fakhar will always struggle to find consistency based on the way he plays. He has a bit of that Sehwag quality. When he’s out cheaply you feel like mocking his technique. But when he gets going he’s one of the most destructive players around. I think its us fans who need to adapt our way of analyzing players. This guy is unique and his stats don’t lie.

You can criticize his technique all you want but as unconventional as it is, at the end of the day it works for him.

I dont habe issues with texhnique. My issue is hia batting avg shouldnt go below 40. Its criminal to have players avg 30ish in ur team

Plus the avg needs to stat 40 againt strong oppositions.

Abid ali is a joke with an inflated avg in pakistan

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

One thing that really impressed me about Fakhar was how uncontent he was with his knock yesterday. You could see it in the post-match presentation where he was clearly disappointed that he couldn't finish the game. He noted that he wasn't bothered about missing out on a score of 200, but rather disappointed about not winning the match. He even said he would have been much happier had he scored less and won the game

Even when he scored his century he didn't take off his helmet and celebrate, and instead simply nodded to the gallery knowing that the job wasn't done. Even with his dismissal he wanted to take ownership himself for getting duped by de Kock eventhough getting distracted and having a brain fade is perfectly understandable for a batsman that has been at the crease from ball one. And whether we think de Kock's actions were smart or not it goes without saying that they were incredibly underhanded, deceptive and not in the spirit of the game. I'm not bringing up the rules here because clearly no one on the field was aware of them.

These little things may have been ignored by most people but to me they say alot about his character. To me the little things are the big things. And it's refreshing to see a player whose primary focus isn't just on winning the game for the team but also on taking responsibility for his failures.

And if there's one thing we can all admit its that Fakhar was playing for the win even when the game seemed done and dusted and Pakistan were looking at the prospect of a heavy defeat. For me that's something that deserves to be commended because he easily could have finished not out on 150 if he wanted to considering the criticism surrounding him. He was set, there were no demons in the pitch and the South Africans couldn't get him out. But the fact that he didn't shows he is a team player through and through.

All I know is that and when you find a guy like that who has character, who is mentally tough, who is supremely fit and who has the ability to go after the bowlers; you have to hold onto him.

That's attitude of a proper man (and not of man-children like most of failure Pakistani batsmen, such as Akmals, Shehzads etc.).

It is always refreshing to see athletes who stick to their job, remain professional and humble in victory or defeat.

Pakistani cricket needs characters like him

 

[Markhor]

Despite Fakhar's technical limitations, his mental toughness has never been in question. He has scored at important times such as the CT17 final, T20 tri-series final in Zimbabwe in 2018, and the deciding ODI vs NZL in 2018.

He probably won't be as consistent as we'd like, but hopefully this is a turnaround in form for him.

That post-match interview was very good where he spoke about how he was targeting the shorter boundary so it wasn't simply mindless hitting.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I dont habe issues with texhnique. My issue is hia batting avg shouldnt go below 40. Its criminal to have players avg 30ish in ur team

Plus the avg needs to stat 40 againt strong oppositions.

Abid ali is a joke with an inflated avg in pakistan

I can't recall anytime in recent history when his average went below 45. Even when he was out of form.

His career record vs. Top 5 teams (Aus, Eng, Ind, RSA, NZ) is: 1256 runs at average 44.85 and SR 96 with 3 centuries.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Despite Fakhar's technical limitations, his mental toughness has never been in question. He has scored at important times such as the CT17 final, T20 tri-series final in Zimbabwe in 2018, and the deciding ODI vs NZL in 2018.

He probably won't be as consistent as we'd like, but hopefully this is a turnaround in form for him.

That post-match interview was very good where he spoke about how he was targeting the shorter boundary so it wasn't simply mindless hitting.

The precision with which he hit those boundaries was astounding for such a long innings. Not everyday you get to see a marathon innings with barely any mishit.

 

[Greenstorm]

He has a very strong mentality, probably the toughest we have had in years. Yesterday, Nortje was mouthing off to him initially but Fakhar remained calm and confident, handled the situation like a man and later gave it back to Nortje.

I believe he can become more consistent and effective for us if we pair him with an aggressive opener instead of Imam. That will take away the pressure of accelerating early on without getting set which results in a lot of his dismissals. He can more than make up for it once he gets his eye in.

We should definitely consider pairing him with Sharjeel or Haider for future ODIs. If it fails, we can always revert back to consistent but slow Imam.

 

[Bewal Express]

He isnt the most talented, but he isnt scared, which too many of our batsman have too often been guilty off. He showed with Ind innings that he has something, its unfortunate that he hasn't kicked on. Lets hope it's the start of something rather than the end. In the past our players have used a great performance to go backwards as complacency and poor work ethic set in.

 

[nextover666666]

Great job OP i agree 100 percent
Fakhar Zaman is a fighter and that is what we need someone who will go all out and not be afraid

 

[shamaan]

Fakhar should his mental toughness and fitness levels that was an incredible innings and incredible striking.its also good to see that he actually played all the innings and not quick 30

 

[Suleiman]

A refreshing change. Whenever I see this type of selfless attitude from our batsmen it reminds me of the others we’ve had over the last couple of years who take off their helmet not on 100, but at 50. It showed the low expectations they had of themselves. Specifically I’m talking about Sarfraz in UAE, dude took everything off at 50 and started yelling shouting as if it was 150. (ODI series vs Aus ; 2014-15 season iirc)

 

[Bigboii]

Military background helps.

 

[Bigboii]

He has a very strong mentality, probably the toughest we have had in years. Yesterday, Nortje was mouthing off to him initially but Fakhar remained calm and confident, handled the situation like a man and later gave it back to Nortje.

I believe he can become more consistent and effective for us if we pair him with an aggressive opener instead of Imam. That will take away the pressure of accelerating early on without getting set which results in a lot of his dismissals. He can more than make up for it once he gets his eye in.

We should definitely consider pairing him with Sharjeel or Haider for future ODIs. If it fails, we can always revert back to consistent but slow Imam.

yeah and its not WC year so we can experiment

Ill choose Haider, I really don't want to see Sharjeel he adds no value except for once in a blue moon quick 50

Haider is supremely talented with age, fitness on his side on top can probably play longer innings than sharjeel

I had high hopes for Haider but don't see him reaching that level of 50+ average batsman,
his IQ and game awareness isn't all there so expectations have to be lowered...

 

[Slim]

That's attitude of a proper man (and not of man-children like most of failure Pakistani batsmen, such as Akmals, Shehzads etc.).

It is always refreshing to see athletes who stick to their job, remain professional and humble in victory or defeat.

Pakistani cricket needs characters like him

Dont do shehzad dirty like that. Do you remember his t20I century against bangladesh? Guy didnt celebrate as he knew the job wasnt done.

 

[pakistani pride]

Hope some others in the team learn from this and dont ga ga every time they score a meaningless 50 at 70 SR.

 

[rockyboy2018]

If Hafeez gets thousands of chances for his meager performance over the course of his career. I think Fakhar has now booked a free ride for his career and he can now afford a free license for throwing tantrums and using media in his favor. To be honest, he is more talented than Hafeez could ever be. He needs a good coach who can motivate him.