“You are never above the board”: Fakhar Zaman

LAHORE: In a recent interview, Pakistani batsmen Fakhar Zaman clarified a tweet he posted earlier this year in October defending fellow player Babar Azam.

Fakhar’s post came on the same day as the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) announcement to exclude Babar Azam from the national team after their defeat to England in the first test, and thus seemed to be a comment on the decision. However, Fakhar explained that this was a misunderstanding.

“India didn’t bench Virat Kohli during his rough stretch between 2020 and 2023, when he averaged 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively,” wrote Fakhar on October 13 on X, formerly known as twitter. He stated that benching “arguably the best [batsman] Pakistan has ever produced” would send a negative message to the team.

Following his tweet, sources revealed that the PCB were displeased with Zaman’s comments, as they found the tweet to be unnecessary interference in the selection process.

However, in an interview with paktv.tv, Fakhar clarified his earlier post, explaining that it was all one large misunderstanding. While he regrets posting the tweet, he never intended for it to be a criticism on the PCB.

“Afterwards I realised, if I hadn’t it would’ve been better. But, people thought that I criticized the boards decision, but this was 100% wrong. The tweet that I did was before the team announcement.

The aforementioned tweet was posted hours before the PCB announcement regarding Babar’s exclusion from the squad and thus Fakhar claims wasn’t related to the board’s decision. Rather, the tweet was a response to journalists and ex-players opinions about Babar.

Fakhar Zaman defends Babar Azam after exclusion from squad

“I didn’t know what was going on. For two, three days, whenever I watched the news, some journalists and some of our ex-players were saying he should be dropped.”

Fakhar thought that Babar’s contributions to the team were being overlooked. That belief festered in his mind until it came out in the form of a social media post. Regardless, Fakhar reiterated that his post came before the announcement. He then went on to explain that he believed his post defending Babar would be looked on favourably by the PCB.

“Think about it, I’m also a cricket player, but I’m PCB’s employee, I’m central contracted, I need to play cricket moving forward, so I thought that the board would also like [the tweet].”

The Pakistani batsman then expressed that no one is above the board and that their decisions are final. A sentiment, he stated, he would impart on the young, rising players.

“I will also tell the juniors that will come that whoever you become, you are never above the board, nor can you criticise them on any decision.”

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