Pakistan batter Fakhar Zaman has finally spoken up about the central contract snub. Following a contentious tweet endorsing Babar Azam during the team's home Test series against England, Fakhar lost his central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board. There were several rumours that Babar might be left off the Test team before the series' second Test match against England. Fakhar defended the former captain at the time, claiming that dismissing Babar would give the Test team a bad impression. Virat Kohli was also mentioned by the left-hander in the tweet that contrasted the two players' low points.
Fakhar Zaman clarifies his stance
The PCB was not happy with the post and later Fakhar Zaman was removed from the central contract list following the end of the England Test series. In an interview with PAK TV, Fakhar explained his position and stated that he did not criticize the Pakistan Cricket Board.
The batter contended that he was only expressing his viewpoint as a cricket player in his tweet, which was sent prior to Babar getting dropped. When asked whether he regretted his choice, Fakhar replied that looking back on the incident, he now felt that he should have avoided it.
"I thought about it later and felt that I should not have tweeted. But people got the tweet completely wrong. They thought that I was criticising the decision of the board, but this is 100 per cent wrong. If you see the timing of the tweet, it was done before the board made its decision. I saw in the news for 2-3 days that journalists and former players were criticising him (Babar Azam). And I thought to myself, Babar has done so much for the team, but they still wanted him to be dropped," Fakhar said in the interview.
"I thought about it later and felt that I should not have tweeted. But people got the tweet completely wrong. They thought that I was criticising the decision of the board, but this is 100 per cent wrong. If you see the timing of the tweet, it was done before the board made its decision. I saw in the news for 2-3 days that journalists and former players were criticising him (Babar Azam). And I thought to myself, Babar has done so much for the team, but they still wanted him to be dropped," Fakhar said in the interview.
Fans and former players gave mixed reactions to Fakhar's remark. Some believed it was immature for a current athlete to express his views, while others praised Fakhar for being honest.
Mohsin Naqvi on Fakhar Zaman's contract snub
Since the tweet was interpreted as a critique of the board, it is safe to infer that the PCB did not take it well. In a strong statement, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi said that the tweet was one of the main factor in Fakhar's termination from the central contract. According to Mohsin Naqvi, the primary reason for removing the player from the contact was that, aside from the tweet problem, Fakhar's fitness was inadequate.
"Tweet was one issue, but the bigger matter was that of fitness. There is a show-cause notice pending against him, and we will see about that. He would need to prove his fitness, his point of view was valued in the Connection Camp and I am very thankful to him for that but you cannot go around commenting on the selection committee over selection calls. But ya, the bigger issue is of selection," Mohsin Naqvi said in the press conference while announcing fresh contracts.
On October 27, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the list of players who have contracts for the 2024–25 season. A few veterans' names were missing from the list, even though a number of young players received their first contracts. Fakhar Zaman, a member of Category B in the central contracts for the previous season, was among the ones to be snubbed.