Following several successful domestic seasons, Fakhar Zaman finally made it to Pakistan's ODI squad for the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.

The little I had seen of him, I was quite excited to see this potentially explosive batsman open for Pakistan.

However, Pakistan's squad already had Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, and Ahmed Shehzad as openers, which made most people wonder what was the need for another opener.

I remember at the time a number of people said "Fakhar is a mere slogger, nai chalega".

Not many believed he was international standard. But I really wanted to see him open for Pakistan.

The Pakistan team management probably did not have much faith either as they went with Azhar and Shehzad as the openers for their first Champions Trophy game against India.

An embarrassing loss against India and loss of patience with Shehzad resulted in Fakhar finally getting the nod for Pakistan's next match against South Africa.

I could not wait to see this left hander in greens.

Fakhar impressed everyone with a 22 ball attacking 31, which was laced with 6 hits to the fence.

Fakhar looked every bit the international batsman, but even then there were questions.

"He just lasted 20 odd deliveries"

"He's just a T20 batsman, shouldn't play ODIs"

All sorts of judgments were passed.

But Fakhar would have none of it as he marched on and improved with every outing in the Champions Trophy.

His next three innings were 50, 57, and 114, with the last one coming in the Final against India.


Fakhar Zaman had arrived!

He continued to dominate the bowling in ODIs and T20Is.

He scored against all sides and in all conditions.

He was so good in limited overs that even Babar Azam was over shadowed.

With an average of 59 and a strike rate of 99 in ODIs, coupled with an average of 31 and a strike rate of 143 in T20Is, there is no longer any doubt in anyone's mind that Fakhar is every bit an international opener and a world class batsman.

His success in the shorter format earned him a call to the Test squad for the one-off test against Ireland and the two tests against England this summer.

I thought that was a great idea and just what Pakistan needed - someone who could take the attack to the opposition early on.

Since Saeed Anwar, Pakistan really hasn't had a dominating opening batsman in tests.

Fakhar was a great prospect and once again I was excited to see him don the whites for Pakistan.

But throughout the UK tour, the team management preferred to open with Azhar Ali and Imam Ul Haq. Fakhar did not get a chance to display his talent in whites.

I had thought that it would have been ideal to open with Fakhar with Imam with Azhar at 3, but the Pakistan team management opted to play 5 batsmen, with Sarfraz at 6, followed by a couple of allrounders.

That combination worked no doubt, but I feel Pakistan missed a great opportunity to test Fakhar.

Especially in the tour games and the test against Ireland. That would have been an ideal start to Fakhar's test career.

It didn't bog Fakhar down however as he continued to destroy bowling attacks in ODIs and in the process became the first batsman from Pakistan to score an ODI double hundred.


When Pakistan's test squad for Australia was announced, Fakhar was in there again, as the third opener alongside the first choice pair of Azhar Ali and Imam Ul Haq.

If Fakhar had any chance of making his test debut, it was all dispelled when Pakistan's selectors decided to include Mohammad Hafeez in the test squad at the last minute.

A fourth opener meant that Fakhar had moved even further down the pekking order.

For the first test, the team management moved Azhar Ali back to number 3 with Hafeez and Imam opening.

Hafeez, coming back to the side after two years, celebrated his comeback with a hundred.

Imam continued to show why he will be opening for Pakistan for the next decade and a half.

Both were also involved in a 200 run opening partnership, which meant that Fakhar will have to wait a while.

I wondered whether Fakhar will ever play test cricket.

Some even thought it was best he doesn't because his game is only suited to white ball cricket.

I always thought otherwise. Look at the impact the likes of Virender Sehwag, Matthew Hayden, and Chris Gayle have had while opening in tests. They all have triple centuries against their names.

Then Imam injured his hand and was ruled out of the second test.

This was Fakhar's chance I thought. He will finally make his debut.

A few days away from the second test against Australia, I started hearing that Sarfraz and Arthur will move Azhar back to open the innings and slot Usman Salahuddin in the middle order.

Meaning Fakhar will not get his chance in whites yet again.

On the eve of the second test however, Sarfraz Ahmed confirmed that Fakhar will play.

That was it. I couldn't wait for the debut.

All of Pakistan was excited to see Fakhar make his debut, see Fakhar take Australia's bowling apart.

While some skeptics continued to say that it was a mistake and Usman Salahuddin was once again hard done by.

Maybe Usman was, actually I think he was, because he truly deserves to play test cricket for Pakistan, but the prospect of Fakhar Zaman opening in test cricket is too good to ignore.

Pakistan won the toss and out walked Fakhar Zaman in whites making his test debut.

While I had thought that he will play his natural attacking game, Fakhar not only surprised me, but also silenced all those skeptics who had wondered whether he was good enough for test cricket or not.

Fakhar was sedate and cautious.

Maybe it was the nerves of a test debut, or maybe it was the fact that he saw three batsmen fall for ducks while he looked on from the non-striker's end.

Fakhar was out there when Pakistan collapsed from 57-1 to 57-5 in the span of 10 deliveries.

While an experienced campaigner might have been used to this, for a debutant that would have been nerve wrecking.

Not for Fakhar though.

He continued to bat cautiously and started to rebuild Pakistan's innings together with Sarfraz Ahmed.

A batsman who was used to batting at a strike rate of over a 100, was batting at a strike rate in the 40s.

It wasn't the same Fakhar I, or anyone else, was used to.

He was really unfortunate to miss a debut century, but Fakhar's 94 scored of 198 deliveries at a strike rate of 47 was a test innings par excellence.

It was one of the best debut innings played by a Pakistani batsman under pressure.

Forget the skeptics, even I did not think that Fakhar could curb his natural instinct and play sedately.


It was an outstanding debut innings.

Fakhar wasn't done yet.

He walked out for the second innings, with a lot less pressure as Pakistan was already leading by 137 runs, and he took the attack to Australia's bowling.

He raced to a run a ball fifty becoming the first opener from Pakistan to score a 50 in each innings of his debut test.

His second knock ended on 66, scored at a strike rate of 80.

This one was more a Fakhar innings, but more importantly what Fakhar showed in his debut test was that he can bat according to the situation.

If caution was required he can easily rein himself in and play like he did in the first innings. If aggression was required he can easily smash the bowling around like he did in the second innings.

It was the perfect debut for Fakhar Zaman and I can't wait to see more!

The second test between Pakistan and Australia got underway yesterday in Abu Dhabi.

Soon after the start, two bad shots and two unbelievably freaky catches later, Pakistan found themselves at 57-5.

From 57-1 to:

57-2
57-3
57-4
57-5

!!

Who would have thought that Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, and Babar Azam will all walk back to the pavilion for a duck.

It took a 147 run 6th wicket partnership between a debutant and the captain to steer Pakistan out of complete disaster.

Fakhar was unfortunate to miss out on a debut test ton, but he batted with grit and determination in his first test. His innings of 94 was unnatural, at a strike rate of 47, and showed Pakistan and the rest of the world that he can adapt his game to play at the highest level.


Pakistan will now have an interesting problem at hand when Imam is fit again.

Sarfraz Ahmed finally produced a captain's knock when it was required. Sarfraz hasn't batted the way he did yesterday in over 3 years.

He batted as if it was 2014 all over again. Without giving a damn.

He attacked, he found the gaps, he ran, and he scored 94 without even breaking a sweat.

It was a splendid captain's knock and a much needed one, not only to steady Pakistan's first innings, but also to boost his own confidence and ensure some continuity in Pakistan's top job.

The Fakhar-Sarfraz partnership and some late blows from Yasir Shah took Pakistan to 282. It is not a total Pakistan would have wanted after winning the toss, but it is good enough runs on the board following what happened in the morning session.

Pakistan ended the day on a high note with their newest superstar, Mohammad Abbas, picking up 2 Australian wickets including the key wickets of the first test's hero - Usman Khawaja.

Mohammad Abbas did not quite get to 50 test wickets in his 9th test match, which means that he will only equal, and not beat, the record created by Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif, and Shabbir Ahmed - 50 test wickets in 10 matches, which is the quickest for Pakistani pacers.

Despite not achieving the record, Abbas has remarkable figures in a short test career.

He has 49 wickets in 9 tests at an average under 17, which is something no pacer has achieved in the last 100 years of test cricket.


In fact, Abbas is the only bowler, with at least 45 test wickets, to average under 17, since Sydney Barnes, who hung up his boots in 1914!

So what Abbas has achieved till now is something done by only 2 bowlers since the start of the 20th Century!

Remarkable is a gross understatement.

I reckon he would have got his 50th test wicket in the first test against Australia had Sarfraz gone to him immediately on the 5th morning. Instead, Abbas did not get the ball till after the 15th over of day 5.

Such a bad decision.

Anyhow, back to Abbas, and it is not only his average that is outstanding, but even his strike rate.


His strike rate of 42.1, just a bit more than 7 overs is bettered by only Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada, and Shane Bond from the modern era.

Right now he is striking faster than Waqar Younis did for Pakistan, which will be quite some feat if he manages to continue with the same vigor.

The result of the first test between Pakistan and Australia might have been different had Abbas been given the ball at the start of day 5, but what is done is done and now it is time to look ahead to the second test.

Abbas will be key for Pakistan if they are to win this test series and Sarfraz must use him better than he did in the first test.

Mohammad Abbas has quickly risen to the status of Pakistan's premier pace bowler in tests.

While it was Bilal Asif who ripped through Australia in the first innings of this test, Abbas played a crucial role as well ensuring a strong lead for Pakistan.

Abbas then follow up his first innings 4-29 with another special spell in the second innings where he picked up 3 wickets in the space of 7 deliveries for no runs that left Australia reeling at 87-3.

Abbas is special and he is one wicket away from his 50th test wicket in only his 9th test.


Another wicket today and he will join Yasir Shah as the quickest to 50 wickets among Pakistan bowlers. Better than that, he will become the quickest among pacers from Pakistan, breaking the 10-test record set by Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif, and Shabbir Ahmed.

Abbas spoke to the media yesterday and you can watch his press conference on our Facebook page. Here is a transcript of what he spoke about:

I don't know a single person who was not surprised by seeing Bilal Asif's name in the Pakistan squad for the test series against Australia. Everyone wondered why he was the only off spinner in the squad and asked where were all the other off spinners.

I was quite sure that Bilal Asif will not play a single game and that thought became even more certain when Pakistan called up Mohammad Hafeez to join the squad.

But then, Shadab did not recover from his injury and on the eve of the first test against Australia, Sarfraz announced that Bilal Asif will play.

I read someone's social media post that said that this was Pakistan's weakest bowling attack ever. Even I was skeptical about the support for Abbas and Yasir, so I did not even bother to refute that statement.

And then on day 3 of the first test, Bilal Asif surprised not only Australia but all of Pakistan too!

Bilal Asif's magic made the Aussies fold like a pack of cards as they lost 10 wickets, 6 of them to Asif, for 60 runs in 30 odd overs resulting in one of the worst ever collapses in Australia's test history.

Asif's 6-36 is the third best bowling figures in an innings by a Pakistani debutant and the second best by a Pakistani debutant off spinner.

Look at that average, economy, and strike rate. Never has a Pakistani debutant dominated the way Bilal Asif did.

Pakistanis love to create the unexpected, don't they? I don't know any other team that dismisses the fans' expectations, both good and bad, like Pakistan does!

Asif's figures are not only one of the best ever for a Pakistani debutant, but they are one of the best among all off spinners on debut.

Fourth best to be exact, but again no debutant has done it as economically or as destructively as Asif did against Australia.

And that holds true among all bowlers that have made their test debut against Australia.

No one has produced as a good a spell as Asif's 6-36 on debut against Australia.

It is not surprising that no one considered Asif to be test material before the series started. He doesn't have a first class record that showcases abundant talent, nor does he have domestic performance that have startled, yet the Pakistan selectors and the team management saw something in him.

That something paid off yesterday.

Fortunately, Shadab Khan was not fit for this test, because if he was then I doubt Asif would have ever gotten a chance. And the way Pakistan's other leg spinner went in the first innings, wicketless, Pakistan may not have been in the position they are in now had Asif not been in the XI.

So thank you Inzamam, thank you Sarfraz and Mickey, and thank you Shadab for letting us witness the heroics of Bilal Asif.

Asif addressed the media at the end of day 3 and you can watch the video on our Facebook page. Here is a transcript of what he had to say:

On day 2 of the first test against Australia, Pakistan further solidified their position through a 150 run partnership between Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq.

In the process Haris Sohail posted his maiden test hundred, scoring 110 with 8 boundaries and two sixes.


Haris has been in and out of the Pakistan team across all formats since he made his debut. He has an impeccable first class record, where he is among very few Pakistani batsmen who average above 50, and now he has finally showcased that potential at the international stage.

Haris addressed the media at the end of day 2. You can view the video clip of his press conference on our facebook page.

Below is a translation of what he had to say:

Mohammad Hafeez, in his first test innings in two years, smashed a century ensuring that no one takes away the title of Comeback King from him.

Hafeez' 126 against Australia in the first test in Dubai was his 10th test century. He has now joined an elite club of Pakistan openers with 10 or more test centuries, whose only other member is Saeed Anwar!

Can you believe that? No test opener from Pakistan has scored more than Saeed Anwar's 11 test hundreds and Hafeez is only one century away from equaling that feat!

Considering that Australia, England, and India have each produced a couple of openers with more than 20 test hundreds. And at least 1 opener with 30 test hundreds, I was quite surprised.

But then, Pakistan hasn't really had that many stable openers. We are never patient enough with our openers and a couple of bad matches or 1 bad series and the selectors move on to the next one.

I wonder why that is.

In the middle order, batsmen seem more safe. They can go through more failures than openers can.

Case in point, Mohammad Hafeez, who was kept away from Pakistan's test side for two years despite scores of 224, 197, 151, 101*, 98, 96, 51, 42*, 42, 40 in his last 10 tests! He really only failed in one test in England (0 and 2) and he was dropped.

Doesn't seem right for a batsman who has arguably been Pakistan's second best opener in tests ever!


He has the third highest runs tally, the second highest number of test hundreds, and the third best average among all test openers produced by Pakistan.

Hafeez has been a world class opener for Pakistan, more so since November 2010 when he made his return to the Pakistan test team under Misbah.

Since that time, Hafeez is among the best openers in the world!


His average of 42.2 in this period is behind only that of Alastair Cook's, David Warner's, and Dean Elgar's.

It really makes me wonder why he was dropped from the team.

What further strengthens Hafeez' case as the first choice test opener for Pakistan is the fact that he has been involved in 7 out of the 13 century opening stands and 11 out of 15 fifty opening stands for Pakistan since 2010.


Hafeez has easily been Pakistan's best test opener since 2010 and I really cannot understand what resulted in him being dropped.

Please save me all the bull crap about his runs coming on flat decks and his centuries against weaker opposition. Hafeez has test hundreds against all test countries that he has played against, barring South Africa, and the only country he hasn't played test cricket against India.

For each one of his 10 test hundreds, there was another opener in the team also, playing the same opposition in the same conditions as Hafeez.

Mohammad Hafeez' comeback was so strong that he put on 205 runs for the opening wicket with Imam-Ul-Haq, which was Pakistan's 5th opening wicket stand of 200 runs or more, and the 6th highest test partnership ever against Australia.

I wonder how long Hafeez will last this time, but if he maintains the form that he displayed in Dubai yesterday, he will be on top of the list of Pakistan's test openers by the end of the Test series against New Zealand.

There was no surprise when Pakistan captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, won the toss and elected to bat first under the scorching Dubai sun in the first test against Australia.

Before the toss, Pakistan handed a Test cap to off spinner Bilal Asif, while Australia handed out three caps to Aaron Finch, Travis Head, and Marnus Labuschagne.


Mohammad Hafeez, making his comeback to the test side after two years, and Imam Ul Haq, wasted no time in ensuring that Sarfraz had made the right call at the toss.

Pakistan's openers dominated the proceedings for the first two sessions and out in 205 runs for the first wicket, in what was the 5th double century opening stand for Pakistan in the history of their test cricket.

Hafeez made his comeback memorable by knocking a superb century. His 126 was laced with 15 boundaries and it seemed as if he was never away from Pakistan's test team.


Hafeez has had numerous comebacks to the Pakistan team and every single one of them has been with a bang!

When he returned to the team at the Oval in 2006, he was playing a test after a gap of 3 years and showed everyone what Pakistan had been missing when he scored 95.

The second comeback that I remember was in 2010 against South Africa when Misbah took charge of the team. Then he came back with a 60 against an attack that included Dale Steyn.

And now, he bettered all his previous comebacks with a scintillating 126!

His opening partner, Imam-Ul-Haq continued the awesome start that his career has had, but he would be disappointed to miss out on his first test century after departing for a flawless 76.


It was a brilliant start from Pakistan's openers, but following their departure, Pakistan gave back some of the initiative that they had snatched away from Australia. At 205-1, one would think that the new batsmen would try to dominate the bowling that would have been tired out by the openers.

However, both Azhar Ali and Haris Sohail batted as if the scoreline was 2-2 and not 222-2!

If anything they showed the quality of the innings that Hafeez and Imam played in more challenging conditions.

It was still Pakistan's day with 250 odd on the board and only 3 wickets down, but it did not end at the same dominant note that it had started.

In one of my many conversations on facebook, I mentioned that Australia had been outplayed by Pakistan during the home series held in England.

One of my Pro-Australian friends differed and said that the statement was true if only I had added "given the amount of test cricket Pakistan had played against quality opposition".

Fair enough I thought.

My statement was based on the fact that the tour results show 3 wins for Pakistan and 1 for Australia.

So surely Pakistan were the better team winning the T20 series 2-0 and drawing the test series 1-1.

So then, were Australia outplayed?

I dug into some statistics relating to the two tests; yes the series was drawn but a comparison of player to player performances shows a startling revelation.

Pakistan's top 6 batsmen scored more runs than Australia's; the difference is almost a 100 runs with the Pakistanis averaging 28.6 per batsman per innings, 4 runs more than the Aussies.

Salman Butt was the top scorer in the series and the only batsman on both sides to average over 50.

Now that is some statistic considering that the series involved the likes of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, and Simon Katich!

The difference between the top order batsmen is even more glaring with the Pakistani top 3 - Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, and Azhar Ali - scoring 150 more runs in 4 innings than their Aussie counterparts - Simon Katich, Shane Watson, and Ricky Ponting.

The opening partnerships show the difference between the starts that both the teams got in the 4 innings they played. While the Salman and Imran averaged 42 per innings as a pair, Katich and Watson averaged only 26.

The biggest difference between the two teams, however, is in the bowling performances.

The Pakistan trio of Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif, and Umar Gul accounted for 30 of the 40 Australian wickets to fall during the test series. They tormented the Aussies at the crease and they have the statistics to show for it!

An average of just under 23 among the 3 of them and a strike rate of 42.9; the Pakistanis picked up an Australian wicket almost every 7th over.

In comparison, the Aussie trio of Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus, and Mitchell Johnson did so every 10 overs. Australia's pace battery could manage only 16 wickets over the 2 tests - a stark difference to what their Pakistani counterparts managed.

Shane Watson was the best bowler on both sides picking up as many wickets as Aamer and Asif; however at a much cheaper rate.

But the problem with Australia lied in the fact that their top 3 pacers could not do what the Pakistanis could - pick wickets up at regular intervals.

So then, were the Australians outplayed during the test series or not?