PCB chief Naqvi explains Fakhar Zaman’s exclusion from central contract, white-ball squad

The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi has explained the reason behind the exclusion of opening batter Fakhar Zaman from the central contracts as well as white-ball squads for the tour of Australia and Zimbabwe.

Earlier today, the cricket board announced the central contracts for the 2024-25 international season, along with the squads for the tours to Australia and Zimbabwe.

The Australia tour will run from 4-18 November, while the matches in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, will be played from 24 November to 5 December.

However, Fakhar Zaman’s name was missing from the central contract list and squads for the upcoming tours.

During a press conference in Lahore, a journalist asked the PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, if Fakhar was left out due to his social media post defending Babar Azam.

In response, Naqvi acknowledged the controversy surrounding Fakhar’s social media post, which has been deemed a violation of the central contract.

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However, he emphasized that the primary factor leading to Fakhar’s exclusion was due to concerns over the batter’s fitness.

“There is the tweet issue definitely. But that doesn’t matter as much as his fitness tests. He had two issues: the fitness test and the show-cause notice, which is still pending. That is why he hasn’t been included (in the central contracts list),” Naqvi said.

“If a player is dropped by the selection committee, another player starts tweeting against it. This isn’t allowed and will not be permitted. However, the bigger issue is his fitness test.”

For the unversed, earlier this month Fakhar Zaman expressed his disappointment through a social media post over the selection committee’s decision to drop star batter Babar Azam after the first Test against England.

Consequently, the PCB issued a show-cause notice to the left-hander over breaching the Code of Conduct.

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