[VIDEO] Fakhar Zaman: A Career ruined by Nepotism, Greed and Corruption

[mominsaigol]

Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy 2025 due to injury, and with that, his career is effectively over. Even if he gets selected for the 2026 or 2027 World Cups, age, declining fitness, and slowing reflexes mean he won’t be the same force. Pakistan has failed to protect one of its greatest-ever openers.

Pakistan’s Best Opener Since Saeed Anwar
Fakhar Zaman was Pakistan’s most destructive opener since Saeed Anwar. His aggressive stroke play and fearless approach made him a nightmare for bowlers worldwide.

CT 2017 – The Day Fakhar Won Pakistan a Trophy
Pakistan's biggest ICC title in recent history was built on Fakhar’s brilliance. His match-winning 114 off 106 balls in the final against India set the stage for a historic victory. It was the defining knock of his career and one of the greatest ODI final innings ever.

Historic Innings That Prove His Greatness

193 vs South Africa (2021) – A masterclass while chasing 342. Nearly won it single-handedly.
210 vs Zimbabwe (2018)* – First and only Pakistani to score a double century in ODIs.
123 off 74 vs New Zealand (2023) – While chasing 400, he almost pulled off the impossible.
180 vs New Zealand (2021) – Another elite chase, showcasing his ability to dominate world-class attacks.

Pakistan’s closest equivalent to David Warner, Fakhar played fearless cricket when the team desperately needed aggression at the top.

Mickey Arthur’s Vision & Misbah’s Regression
Mickey Arthur saw Fakhar’s talent and promoted him as an all-format opener. Under Mickey:
He won the 2018 tri-series final vs Australia with 91 off 46 in a T20 final.
He smashed Mitchell Starc in Tests, proving his attacking game worked in the longest format.

Then Misbah-ul-Haq arrived and ruined everything. Instead of impact, Misbah prioritized “consistency,” picking stat-padding, weak openers like Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan in T20s while pushing Fakhar down to No. 4.

Misbah used Fakhar’s inconsistency as an excuse but never understood T20 cricket—as a captain, he destroyed Pakistan’s T20 side in 2012, and as a coach, he repeated the same mistake. Under Babar-Rizwan, Pakistan became horrifically slow in Powerplays and even lost a T20 series to Zimbabwe.

Misbah removed Fakhar from Tests, saying aggression wasn’t suited—despite Warner & Head proving attacking Test openers work.

Super Over Disasters: Misbah’s failure continued with Iftikhar Ahmed’s disastrous super overs, leading to losses against Zimbabwe & USA.

Ramiz Raja & Babar Azam’s Era – Worse Than Misbah

Ramiz built the team around Babar Azam, ignoring Fakhar completely.

Babar then dropped Fakhar for average players like Abdullah Shafique, who repaid him with three ducks in a row vs South Africa. And flunked all his international games excluding sri lanka.

Aaqib Javed followed the same flawed strategy, further sidelining Fakhar.

Shadow Banned for Speaking Up
Fakhar’s decline wasn’t just cricketing—it was political. His Twitter comments led to a silent exile from the team. A generational talent was thrown away for corruption, favoritism, and brand politics instead of protecting Pakistan’s 2nd greatest opener ever.

Fakhar Zaman’s career didn’t end due to form or fitness—it ended due to Pakistan cricket’s failure to back its real match-winners.

 

[Theanonymousone]

Fakhar would have been what Sehwag was for India.

A pathetic selection committee and a pathetic captain ruined that.

Sehwag is considered one of the best openers of the game for his style while Fakhar’s career is ending without even proper utilization of his potential.

I really like Fakhar. His playing style and attacking mindset and comes across as a level headed guy. Cant ask for more of an athlete representing his nation. He is one of the likable guys in Pakistan team to be honest who are otherwise more focussed on either forming factions or being ambassadors of their religion, rather than the game

 

[Bhaijaan]

Bro, Fakhar bhai legitimately the most dangerous Pakistani opener since Saeed bhai and legitimately up there in world cricket among the most dangerous openers.

His game is very limited but tell you what it doesn’t matter a lot sometimes. More important thing is awareness of your abilities , your limits and executing your strengths successfully which Fakhar bhai has cracked.

He plays with the right intent. When Fakhar is batting, Pakistan is always on track to post a good total for chase any total. He ensures Pakistan keeps up with the required pace unselfishly.

I absolutely acknowledge his commitment. They call him fauji and he really is one. I am also saddened that such a special special talent hasn’t been given the respect he deserved by the management over the years. He’s been bit unlucky with the injuries and that maybe bit of his doing as his fitness isn’t international level but this guys heart is in the right place.

He’s the Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan cricket team bro. The same patriotism, intensity and fire in his eyes.

I wish Fakhar bhai the best on a speedy recovery. This is no doubt a huge blow.

 

[mominsaigol]

Bro, Fakhar bhai legitimately the most dangerous Pakistani opener since Saeed bhai and legitimately up there in world cricket among the most dangerous openers.

His game is very limited but tell you what it doesn’t matter a lot sometimes. More important thing is awareness of your abilities , your limits and executing your strengths successfully which Fakhar bhai has cracked.

He plays with the right intent. When Fakhar is batting, Pakistan is always on track to post a good total for chase any total. He ensures Pakistan keeps up with the required pace unselfishly.

I absolutely acknowledge his commitment. They call him fauji and he really is one. I am also saddened that such a special special talent hasn’t been given the respect he deserved by the management over the years. He’s been bit unlucky with the injuries and that maybe bit of his doing as his fitness isn’t international level but this guys heart is in the right place.

He’s the Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan cricket team bro. The same patriotism, intensity and fire in his eyes.

I wish Fakhar bhai the best on a speedy recovery. This is no doubt a huge blow.

His game is not limited. Claiming his game is limited is like arguing Steve smith is limited.

Babar, Saud and rizwan are limited. Saud can't play pace for the life of him, Rizwan can't play on the offside for the life of him, Babar can't play spin or swing for the life of him.

Fakhar can drive, Sweep, Slog sweep, cut, and has one of the most lethal pull shots I've ever seen in world cricket.

People confuse ugly stances or unorthodox batting for the word limited. That's not what limited means. If he can play shots all across the ground and handle any form of bowling attack then he is not a limited batsmen.

 

[Sachin fan]

And by his own fitness (or lack of it).

 

[mominsaigol]

To this day I'm pondering why misbah decided babar and rizwan would make good t20 openers? How stupid can one get?

 

[jamie smith]

Why was he dropped from tests despite performing well??

 

[RidiculousMan]

Always played for Pakistan. Always gave 100% for Pakistan.

A true servant of the game and country.

His mindset is totally opposite to our Cricketing culture and board politics. That's probably why he wasn't given the status or as much facilities as it was required. Was never made captain cause people feared he would translate his fearless mentality into the team.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Why was he dropped from tests despite performing well??

board and management.

 

[mominsaigol]

Why was he dropped from tests despite performing well??

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Because pcb is a moron. He has a fc avg of 37 and sr of 61 and a double century. While these stats aren't impressive, Pakistan could have really utilised a dasher at the top similar to Travis head or david warner

In 3 tests that he played fakhar scored 2 rapid fires 50's.

Neither of Imam, Shan, Hurraira or Abdullah should have gotten the go ahead in tests over Fakhar

 

[Slim]

Lets not forget one key aspect - When Naqvi's PCB was looking for a new captain post Babar, Fakhar Zaman's name was being thrown around a lot more than Rizwan. No one wanted Rizwan to be captain, and everyone wanted a captain whose core philosophy is modern aggressive cricket.

And then Saya Corporation did their trick.

They tweeted from Fakhar's account against PCB to ensure that any chance of Fakhar being captain are eliminated. They made sure that Naqvi and co. are pissed off and leave PCB with no choice but to make Rizwan captain.

At this time, there were news going around that Fakhar has ended his contract with Saya as they tweeted without his permission, but immediately this was countered with tweets being posted of Talha Rehmani (the devil behind Saya Corporation) visiting his village. And then the whole thing was buried.

Everything circles back to Saya Corporation.

Our cricket will never improve until this evil is purged from our cricket. This agency is damaging Pakistan cricket.

 

[Slim]

Saya Corporation's owner co-owns yazoo group with Rizwan and Inizmam. So you can pretty much think of Rizwan being the co-owner of Saya as well which shows in action as well.

They also now put in contract younger players early, so that they toe the lines of Rizwan/Babar and basically no one can speak up against the hijacking of Pakistan cricket.

Najam Sethi tried - we saw a lot of noise in media about Afghanistan series as if hell has broken loose and then the eventual Badhsah Wazeer BS from pathetic Shadab.
Zaka Ashraf tried - the whole bot network and paid media went against Zaka and Hafeez.
Mohsin Naqvi and Aqib tried - god knows what happened behind the scenes but after England series, the status quo was immediately restored in South Africa series.

 

[Bhaijaan]

His game is not limited. Claiming his game is limited is like arguing Steve smith is limited.

Babar, Saud and rizwan are limited. Saud can't play pace for the life of him, Rizwan can't play on the offside for the life of him, Babar can't play spin or swing for the life of him.

Fakhar can drive, Sweep, Slog sweep, cut, and has one of the most lethal pull shots I've ever seen in world cricket.

People confuse ugly stances or unorthodox batting for the word limited. That's not what limited means. If he can play shots all across the ground and handle any form of bowling attack then he is not a limited batsmen.

What i meant was that he’s a high risk batter.

Lets not forget one key aspect - When Naqvi's PCB was looking for a new captain post Babar, Fakhar Zaman's name was being thrown around a lot more than Rizwan. No one wanted Rizwan to be captain, and everyone wanted a captain whose core philosophy is modern aggressive cricket.

And then Saya Corporation did their trick.

They tweeted from Fakhar's account against PCB to ensure that any chance of Fakhar being captain are eliminated. They made sure that Naqvi and co. are pissed off and leave PCB with no choice but to make Rizwan captain.

At this time, there were news going around that Fakhar has ended his contract with Saya as they tweeted without his permission, but immediately this was countered with tweets being posted of Talha Rehmani (the devil behind Saya Corporation) visiting his village. And then the whole thing was buried.

Everything circles back to Saya Corporation.

Our cricket will never improve until this evil is purged from our cricket. This agency is damaging Pakistan cricket.

Ye Saya Saya kya hae bhai.

How did one talent management firm become so influential. A country where historically we heard even Prime Minister was directly involved sometimes with selection matters.

 

[Slim]

What i meant was that he’s a high risk batter.


Ye Saya Saya kya hae bhai.

How did one talent management firm become so influential. A country where historically we heard even Prime Minister was directly involved sometimes with selection matters.

Not sure whats going on, if anything Mohsin should steam roll this plague. He has the authority and power. But there is something wrong behind the scenes - cannot discover what. But the way all the Saya golden boys were brought back in South Africa series shows something majorly wrong.

I have my suspicion on the people who have his ear. Azhar Ali, and Shafiq are Misbah's pets and are part of selection committee. I am going to do my research on Misbah's connection with Saya.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Fakhar Zaman was visibly emotional after his dismissal against New Zealand, breaking down in tears. He knew that he was out of this tournament there and then. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahid Aslam stepped in to console him.

It's rare to witness a talent like Fakhar Zaman. Players of his caliber only come around once in a generation. He's a selfless individual who always gives his all for his country, regardless of the circumstances. Wishing him a swift and full recovery.

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[Bhaijaan]

Fakhar Zaman was visibly emotional after his dismissal against New Zealand, breaking down in tears. He knew that he was out of this tournament there and then. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahid Aslam stepped in to console him.

It's rare to witness a talent like Fakhar Zaman. Players of his caliber only come around once in a generation. He's a selfless individual who always gives his all for his country, regardless of the circumstances. Wishing him a swift and full recovery.

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Hold your head high Fakhar bhai.
We respect you and if you were a Bharatiya we would be proud to have you in our XI. You have been a great warrior for Pakistan and because of you only we lost the 2017 CT final bro but we don’t hate you for that. You played like a champion.

It pains me to see how your career has been ruined by the politics and bad luck with injuries.

We turn on the TV and give all our precious time to this game to watch gladiators like you play. See you soon in Greens bro.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Babar Azam should be crying like that for his selfish batting, not Fakhar Zaman who fought through injury.

 

[Slim]

Fakhar Zaman was visibly emotional after his dismissal against New Zealand, breaking down in tears. He knew that he was out of this tournament there and then. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahid Aslam stepped in to console him.

It's rare to witness a talent like Fakhar Zaman. Players of his caliber only come around once in a generation. He's a selfless individual who always gives his all for his country, regardless of the circumstances. Wishing him a swift and full recovery.

View this content on Instagram

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This was heart wrenching to watch. Pakistan cricket team has been cursed in this tournament. First Saim and then Fakhar, the only two proper match winners.

I feel sad for the crowd back home too, they didnt deserve this.

 

[kingusama92]

They're lucky to have a young Saim as an opener once Fakhar fades away.

Otherwise, it would have been quite bleak at the top. I do think he still has a few years in him and should be good until the 2027 WC as long as he stays fit.

They need to take care of these guys and not run them into the ground.

 

[Rana]

Not sure whats going on, if anything Mohsin should steam roll this plague. He has the authority and power. But there is something wrong behind the scenes - cannot discover what. But the way all the Saya golden boys were brought back in South Africa series shows something majorly wrong.

I have my suspicion on the people who have his ear. Azhar Ali, and Shafiq are Misbah's pets and are part of selection committee. I am going to do my research on Misbah's connection with Saya.

It was reported that The selection of the 2023 wc squad was done in the office of a PCB official, where Inzimam/Babar and Talha all attended.


There is definitely cut commissions going on per player for some PCB officials through agencies

 

[shah9425]

Fakhar Zaman was visibly emotional after his dismissal against New Zealand, breaking down in tears. He knew that he was out of this tournament there and then. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shahid Aslam stepped in to console him.

It's rare to witness a talent like Fakhar Zaman. Players of his caliber only come around once in a generation. He's a selfless individual who always gives his all for his country, regardless of the circumstances. Wishing him a swift and full recovery.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Get well soon

Hopefully we see him in team until 2027 CWC

 

[GoUgandaCranes]

Don't think it's the end of his career if his injury isn't serious & there's a world cup next year which is a realistic target unless he lets his fitness go completely.

IMO, he should have played more test cricket but we played mentally weak defensive players at six. It is my observation that pre 99' Australia had McGrath & Warne but they only became a juggernaut once Gilchrist joined in and revolutionized the number 6 batting position. He could have been something like that for Pak, 90 overs in Dubai heat and you finally get Pak 5 down and you see Fakhar walking out to bat.

RizBars insistence to play cricket in a certain way only damaged his chances but he did himself no service by limiting his potential. As a white ball player, I did not see any batting improvement over his career in fact he regressed. When he first made his name he had a solid offside game but over time he just made himself into a crouching slogger who just swings in one direction. He didn't incorporate or enhance his arsenal, no lap sweeps, reverse sweeps, or scoops or any modern shot that is there in cricket. Even then he comfortably remains Pakistans best white ball player which says something.

I will also feel a tinge of sadness if I never get to see Saim and Fakhar open together in Int'l cricket. Just like the once famed AAG (amir, asif, gul) trio that never got off the ground, this could be the other what if of our cricket.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Hands down the greatest Pakistani batsman in LOI’s.

 

[mominsaigol]

Hands down the greatest Pakistani batsman in LOI’s.

At his peak he's > every batter from PK.

Not even saeed, Miandad or anyone else remotely compare to him. 193 vs sa and 114 of 106 against india were all peak quality attacks that he dismantled.

Saeed Anwar was a ferocious batter but he benefitted alot from flat track indian bullying back when India's bowling was rubbish.

Fakhar zaman was like a mix of Saeed Anwar and Inzimam. Not a pretty batter like inzi but in his day would dismantle the best bowling attacks and similar to saeed in the fact that he was an opeenr and the only other batter after saeed who could get monster 180 scores.

 

[Rana]

At his peak he's > every batter from PK.

Not even saeed, Miandad or anyone else remotely compare to him. 193 vs sa and 114 of 106 against india were all peak quality attacks that he dismantled.

Saeed Anwar was a ferocious batter but he benefitted alot from flat track indian bullying back when India's bowling was rubbish.

Fakhar zaman was like a mix of Saeed Anwar and Inzimam. Not a pretty batter like inzi but in his day would dismantle the best bowling attacks and similar to saeed in the fact that he was an opeenr and the only other batter after saeed who could get monster 180 scores.

Abdul Razzaq also in demon mode was impossible to bowl to. Guy was hitting 10 ball 40s at the back end in the 90s/early 2000s. Much better hitter than Afridi when switched on

 

[pakistani pride]

A rare talent in the past 10 years or so, maybe even more like the 90s type of player Pak (fearless and mercurial).
He did not fit in this team of timid fake paper tigers, but he should have invested more in his own game.

Did he play regular FC cricket or not?
Fitness levels were not what it used to be and also he like all pak players went to play several low level T20 games.

 

[mominsaigol]

A rare talent in the past 10 years or so, maybe even more like the 90s type of player Pak (fearless and mercurial).
He did not fit in this team of timid fake paper tigers, but he should have invested more in his own game.

Did he play regular FC cricket or not?
Fitness levels were not what it used to be and also he like all pak players went to play several low level T20 games.

He use to play fc cricket until Pakistan decided to axe him from intenratipnal test for no reason which is why he quit fc after.

And he went to low level t20 leagues once Pakistan stopped playing him as a t20 opener.

Either way it's mismangment.

 

[RidiculousMan]

A rare talent in the past 10 years or so, maybe even more like the 90s type of player Pak (fearless and mercurial).
He did not fit in this team of timid fake paper tigers, but he should have invested more in his own game.

Did he play regular FC cricket or not?
Fitness levels were not what it used to be and also he like all pak players went to play several low level T20 games.

He played 50+ FC games before Pakistan discarded him for longest format. That's also a reason why despite an unorthodox technique and way of playing at times. He still had a method that allowed him success. That you can only learn by playing List A and FC Cricket.

 

[deep82]

Why can't Fakhar be the captain of Pakistan cricket team for WT20 2026 and ODI WC 2027.

Pakistan cricket should first discard Babar, Rizwan, Naseem, Shaheen and Rauf. Once the cleanup is completed, Fakhar should be given freedom to build the team along with a new white ball coach. No statpadders, no selfish players and no players who thinks themselves as invincible.

For example, he can very well lead Pakistan in next year T20 world cup with a young team with new fearless approach and environment. For the first time in very long time, Pakistan can actually form a team without the forced inclusion of Babar and Rizwan and actually have some sort of dynamic balance including new batsman and bowlers.

 

[Rana]

Why can't Fakhar be the captain of Pakistan cricket team for WT20 2026 and ODI WC 2027.

Pakistan cricket should first discard Babar, Rizwan, Naseem, Shaheen and Rauf. Once the cleanup is completed, Fakhar should be given freedom to build the team along with a new white ball coach. No statpadders, no selfish players and no players who thinks themselves as invincible.

For example, he can very well lead Pakistan in next year T20 world cup with a young team with new fearless approach and environment. For the first time in very long time, Pakistan can actually form a team without the forced inclusion of Babar and Rizwan and actually have some sort of dynamic balance including new batsman and bowlers.

Dream on mate

Never happening in this lifetime. This goes for the next set of players too after all of these craps retire

 

[Master Blaster]

Ordinary batter.

Looks good in Pak team because there are not many who are better than him.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Wasim said it was breach of privacy to show the video of Fakhar bhai getting emotional. I kind of agree with him. Maybe you can show this stuff in a documentary later on, maybe. But during the tournament showing these deeply personal moments of players I’m not sure is fair.

 

[Asif321]

His career was done once misbah took over . If Fakhar had attitude of shahzad he wouldn’t have played any game after that . But Fakhar is someone who prefers harmony he gave up his position as he was ordered didn’t cry about it rather supported Babar . It’s unlucky for him Arthur and Sarfraz had to leave on crucial time of his career .

 

[Rana]

His career was done once misbah took over . If Fakhar had attitude of shahzad he wouldn’t have played any game after that . But Fakhar is someone who prefers harmony he gave up his position as he was ordered didn’t cry about it rather supported Babar . It’s unlucky for him Arthur and Sarfraz had to leave on crucial time of his career .

Fakhar was also under the influence of his agency

the situation would have been much different if he wasn’t represented by Saya

 

[mominsaigol]

Fakhar was also under the influence of his agency

the situation would have been much different if he wasn’t represented by Saya

Misbah should be jailed for favouring rizwan over fakhar, one of the worst cases of nepotism and favouritism to ever exist.

This is why I hate rizwan. I don't view rizzu as a bad batter or keeper. I think he's rubbish in t20 but okay and good enough to be in odi and t20.

Had he replaced the aged Sarfi, I would have been fine with it. Heck I'd even be fine if he was captain assuming he continued sarfi's trend.

But he had to replace Fakhar Zaman as a t20 opener, Agha as an odi batter since agha use to be our no 4 as well as Haris sohail at no 4.

What was the need to replace solid batters at perfect positions just because he wasn't succeeding lower down the order? Especially considering the batters he replaced have a higher ceiling of talent and performances then him?

 

[BouncerGuy]

Reports are coming in that Fakhar Zaman might take retirement from ODI format soon.

Injury ruined his career big time.

 

[Rana]

What a sad end

The only ODI batter to retire whilst frauds continue

 

[Rana]

Reports suggesting he’s moving abroad with family

Hopefully he moves to London

 

[Savak]

Reports suggesting he’s moving abroad with family

Hopefully he moves to London

I bet he is shifting to USA. He will become a T20 freelancer

 

[Rana]

I bet he is shifting to USA. He will become a T20 freelancer

Yeah this was rumoured before too

USA likely destination.

 

[m.shah]

Such a sad ending to his career.

 

[mominsaigol]

Careers ruined by misbah, Ramiz and rizwan

1) Fakhar Zaman
2) Haris sohail
3) Sarfaraz Ahmed
4) Mohammad Amir (Had the perfect ressurgence)
5) Imad Wasim

 

[YousafTheBeast]

If Tattoos were permitted in Islam, he’d be on my sleeve along with IK, Shaiby, Razzaq and Afridi

Thank you for your service, Fauji

 

[mominsaigol]

If Tattoos were permitted in Islam, he’d be on my sleeve along with IK, Shaiby, Razzaq and Afridi

Thank you for your service, Fauji

TATTOOES ARENT PERMITTED IN ISLAM? WHAT? OMG. How? Then what the heck did I pay 200 aud for?