PAK vs BAN: 'MS Dhoni Would've Never Dropped Fakhar Zaman' - Shane Watson, Ravi Shastri Make Huge Remarks

Former India National Cricket Team head coach Ravi Shastri and former Australia National Cricket Team all-rounder Shane Watson have lashed out at the Pakistan team management for dropping Fakhar Zaman from the playing XI in the ICC World Cup 2023.

Fakhar Zaman was going through a rough for a long period of time and he was left out of the playing XI after Pakistan’s first match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Netherlands. He also faced a setback as he suffered a knee injury in the middle of the competition and wasn’t considered for selection.

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old Fakhar Zaman was included in the playing XI for Imam-ul-Haq against Bangladesh and he was among the three changes made by the Men In Green as Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz were also left out and Agha Salman and Usama Mir came in as replacements.

Fakhar made a roaring comeback and showcased a batting masterclass in the 31st match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 against Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh National Cricket Team at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, October 31.

MS Dhoni would always play Fakhar Zaman – Ravi Shastri

Fakhar Zaman smashed 81 runs off 74 balls, with 3 fours and 7 sixes against Bangla Tigers in a winning cause to win the Player of the Match award. He became only the second Pakistan batter to hit five or more sixes in a men’s ODI World Cup innings after Imran Nazir, who hit 8 sixes against Zimbabwe in 2007.

The cricketer-turned-commentators Shane Watson and Ravi Shastri were highly impressed with Fakhar’s impactful performance and they slammed Pakistan team management for not showing faith in the veteran batter.

Watson said that Fakhar is a match-winner and a skipper like legendary India captain MS Dhoni would have never dropped him from playing XI. Shastri also echoed Watson’s views.

“There’s one captain I know who would have full faith in a match winner. He would stick with them, knowing that they will come good. That’s MS Dhoni,” Shane Watson said while speaking on-air on Star Sports.

“Yeah! He (MS Dhoni) would always play Fakhar (Zaman). That’s for sure,” Ravi Shastri.

Pakistan displayed an all-round brilliance against the Bangla Tigers and won the match comfortably by 7 wickets with 105 balls remaining.