Lahore Qalandars’ senior batsman, Fakhar Zaman, believes he is not in the best possible shape for the tenth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) despite his performance being at the heart of Lahore’s leads in the matches they have played.
The left-handed batsman, who displayed his fine form with a quickfire 76 off just 47 balls against Karachi Kings, once again led the way for the Qalandars in the match. His blazing innings, including six boundaries and five sixes, took Lahore to a resounding win and won him the player of the match award for the second time in a row.
Fakhar Zaman starred in another match for his team just a few days ago. His knock of 67 runs off 51 balls saw the Qalandars home against Quetta Gladiators.
Still, despite his shining examples, Fakhar feels he works only at 65% of his full efficiency.
Yesterday, I said that I didn’t play in flow. If I say this today, it may appear thankless but still, I am not in the whole rhythm yet,” Fakhar spoke the words the day after in the press conference.
The 33-year-old, who had just returned from an injury, stressed the importance of adjusting to various match situations and establishing solid partnerships at the beginning of an innings.
“The surface was not good enough for batting. Our plan originally was to steady the open stand by the middle overs, and then, at the death, we would have wickets in our hand,” Fakhar revealed. “Of course, we all together as a team thought that 170 was defendable, and credit to our bowlers because they executed their plan very well.”
The Constant Force in the PSL
The complete overhaul the Qalandars team underwent before the present season, as well as the confidence they gained from winning last season’s final, gave the team a rollicking start that was definitely unanticipated.
Fakhar’s humility is surprising if we consider that he has had one of the most successful histories in the PSL. When it comes to figures, he is still one of the league’s most aggressive players. Fakhar has 2,669 runs to his name, scored in 87 games, making him the second-leading run scorer in the PSL’s history. His run-scoring average is 31.03, and he has an impressive 141.06 strike rate.
Among those excellent performances, 21 ended only when he had scored 50 or more, and two centuries remain irrefutable proof of his high performance level for several years.
The record includes his stand-out performance of 588 runs in 13 games during PSL 7, the most runs by a single player in the history of a PSL edition. The same PSL edition also witnessed him with the highest average of 45.23 and the highest strike rate of 152.72. Besides, it was His 7 scores of over fifty and one century.
Realising that Fakhar Zaman’s form will be the most crucial element for Lahore Qalandars to advance into the playoffs, even if not at the “full rhythm.” At the same time, the other teams that dare to fight him if this is not his best form of play should be ready to face him when he does reach it.
