Century against India changed my life, says Fakhar Zaman

Pakistan’s new batting sensation Fakhar Zaman says that the game-changing century against India in the final of ICC Champions Trophy was in fact, a life-changing one for him. Even though he did not cause as much a carnage as fans expected him to, in the World XI tour of Pakistan, the fact still remains that he is one of Pakistan’s best revelations in recent times.

Fakhar, after getting a new lease of life earlier in the innings, scored 114 off 106 deliveries with the help of three sixes and 12 fours. The century in return, not only fetched several endorsement contracts for Fakhar but also earned him praise from all across the world.

“Everyone was talking about it (the final against India), even my family who hardly spoke about cricket before were talking about this encounter, so it made me feel the pressure of the game,” he said.

“It certainly changed my life. People started treating me like a legend and it is very overwhelming,” the left-hander added.

On the innings and his style of play

He also mentioned that his innings was not chanceless. Had Jasprit Bumrah not overstepped the line, Fakhar couldn’t have played that match-winning innings for as long as he did. He shed some light on Bumrah’s delivery that went wrong and got him caught behind only for it to be found a no-ball in TV replays.

“I was in dismay after I first got out, but then the umpire told me that it was a no-ball and it gave me a new lease of life. I am thankful to Almighty Allah for the innings,” he said, as reported by Geo News.

He also added that his natural attacking stroke play is what gives him the power to excel in innings like the one against India. Even though the series against the World XI was the team’s first outing after winning the Champions Trophy, it will be interesting to see how Zaman does in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

“I played each game with my natural style like I used to play in domestic cricket and it helped me overpower the top bowlers from the opponents,” explained Fakhar.