Fakhar Zaman eyes one last shot at World Cup glory

Dawn · 16/10/2026، 6:07:18 PM

Fakhar Zaman knows exactly how it feels to win major trophies. He also knows how it feels to wait years for that feeling. The southpaw has seen it all; from hitting a century that etched itself into Pakistan cricket folklore and helped them win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy — their last global title — as a 27-year-old, to heartbreaks in 2021 and 2022 and outright debacles at International Cricket Council events over the next four years. He will be 37 when Pakistan take their next shot at a major international trophy, the 2027 World Cup, set to be held across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. It will almost certainly be Fakhar’s last chance to help Pakistan end their ICC title drought. And it will be that not only for the Mardan-born batter, but also for his contemporaries, the likes of Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The generation basked in stardom after the 2017 triumph and runs to the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final and final, respectively. But a dip that began after 2022 has continued since. Success in bilateral engagements over the past year or so has pushed Pakistan up to sixth and fifth places in the Twenty20 International and ODI rankings, respectively, but the team is long overdue to show its mettle where it matters most. And Fakhar understands that. “We know it’s been quite a while since we’ve won a major tournament,” he told reporters on the sidelines of Pakistan’s training session at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, ahead of their ODI tri-series opener against Sri Lanka. “We’ve reached finals and played in semi-finals, too. “But, obviously, the happiness you feel as a nation when you win a trophy is something you don’t get simply by reaching finals or semi-finals, no matter how many you play. “We’ve sat down and discussed this at length, and many of the players are taking it very seriously. God willing, we’ll give it our best, and we hope for Allah’s help as well. We’ll make every effort to bring this trophy back to Pakistan.” Pakis