• Fakhar Zaman has been displaying poor performance.
• Netizens suggest that he should be replaced.
• He was out of form during the Asia Cup 2023 too.

Fakhar Zaman, the opening batter for Pakistan, has been struggling to score big runs for his team, and this has raised questions about his form.

The 2017 Champions Trophy champion Zaman, who made 202 runs overall with a high of 34, was unable to help his team win in the last 11 innings.

The 33-year-old’s bad performance persisted during the Asia Cup 2023, which was played last month, and it continued this week as Pakistan started their ICC World Cup 2023 campaign.

In their opening World Cup 2023 match against the Netherlands, the Green Shirts’ top order, which included Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and captain Babar Azam, struggled miserably.

After scoring 12 runs, Zaman walked back to the pavilion, where the crowd voted on the 33-year-old’s future with the squad.

Zaman should be replaced by Abdullah Shafique, a natural opener who last month got his first One Day International (ODI) fifty against Sri Lanka in a crucial Asia Cup match.

Here is how twitterati reacted;

Pakistan often replaces one opener with another one in the middle of the tournament and then goes on to perform well in the rest of the matches.
Dropping Fakhar and replacing him with Abdullah Shafique would be the key this world cup.

— K. (@RotiKholDeyo) October 6, 2023

Abdullah shafique being dropped is still so bamboozling

— arshan (@GutsVamonos) October 6, 2023

Genuinely asking, what does Fakhar Zaman have over Abdullah Shafique? pic.twitter.com/EnCGr8FmPP

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— . (@LegWan69) October 6, 2023

Sadly, we haven’t started good and are 3 down in no time but what an opportunity for the youngster Saud Shakeel to prove his class and nerves. Also, the time has come to give up on Fakhar Zaman and give proper chance to Abdullah Shafique who looks promising.#PAKvsNED

— Aunn Muhammad Shahid (@ShahidAunn51780) October 6, 2023

Losing one of your opener in the early overs puts our best batsman under pressure which you cant risk. If we want to win the world cup we’ll have to replace Fakhar Zaman.

— niqqa 2.0 (@simpforhaseeb) October 6, 2023

Again,a disappointment from Fakhar Zaman😓

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He’s gone after scoring 12 runs against Netherland
#PAKvsNED | #FakharZaman pic.twitter.com/VnT4knVoWA

— Hassan Nawaz (@iam_hassan56) October 6, 2023

It should be mentioned that after captain Scott Edwards won the toss for Friday’s World Cup match in Hyderabad, the Netherlands decided to bat first against Pakistan.

Along with the fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali, Pakistan selected two frontline spinners, Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz.

Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, and Saqib Zulfiqar are the sole Associate teams in the World Cup, and they are the Netherlands’ choices for spin.

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