Fakhar Zaman breaks his silence due to his tweet in which he supports Babar Azam

Pakistan national team player Fakhar Zaman finally opened up with his tweet in support of Babar Azam which even led to his exclusion from the national team. The left-hander has publicly expressed remorse over his post on X (formerly Twitter) which highlighted his personal opinion.

In his defence, Fakhar Zaman stated that he posted his tweet before the team was announced and did not intend to belittle the Pakistan Cricket Board’s decision. Al-Fatihi also added that he respects the decisions of the board of directors and would not have done so if the team had been announced.

Babar Azam was going through a difficult phase in the last few months which led to this incident. During this difficult phase, there were calls to drop him from the national team, which Fekhar did not like and decided to publish a post in support of the star right-hander.

Read also: PCB announces full schedule for West Indies tour to Pakistan 2025

Fakhar Zaman breaks his silence on his tweet in support of Babar Azam

Fakhar Zaman recently spoke about the topic through an interview. He claimed that he did not intend to criticize PCB and that people got him completely wrong. Zaman added that he made the tweet after he saw the experts brutally criticizing Babar Azam and demanding his removal from the team.

“It definitely crossed my mind that I shouldn’t have done it. Basically, there were thoughts in people’s minds that I had criticized the PCB’s decision. But that’s completely wrong. I tweeted before the team was announced. I’m all in,” Zaman said. “Everyone told us the tweet was made before the team was announced.”

“I was watching the news from the last two-three days before the tweet and all the journalists and former players were saying that he (Babar Azam) should be dropped. He has done a lot of services (for Pakistan cricket) and saying that he should be dropped, that has been repeatedly coming to my mind.” And repeatedly, which prompted me to make this tweet.”

Fakhar Zaman regrets the tweet supporting Babar Azam but clarifies that he has no intention of criticizing PCB. #CT25 pic.twitter.com/WgKqRRyzR7

– Arfa Fayrouz Zaki (@ArfaSays_) December 23, 2024

“You cannot criticize the board’s decision until…” – Fakhar Zaman’s advice to young people

To clarify the matter further, Fakhar Zaman revealed that he made the tweet before the team was announced and would not have done it after that because he himself is a centrally contracted player.

Fekhar even stated that he would advise youngsters not to criticize the board’s decision until they become active players and claims to have made his thoughts clear to board officials.

“But I tweeted before the (team) announcement. I would not have done it after the announcement because I am a cricketer and I am also a centrally contracted player with PCB. I should play cricket in future as well,” Zaman claimed.

He added: “I will tell the young players of the next generation that you cannot criticize the board’s decision until you play even if you become a big player. So, it is completely wrong for me to criticize the board’s decision.”

“I told the board officials that the team was announced later and I had tweeted it earlier. If the team had been announced, I would not have done it,” the opener concluded.

Fakhar Zaman retracted his tweet

Following his tweet, Fakhar Zaman was not selected for Pakistan’s white-ball tour of Australia. The PCB chairman explained his omission with his unnecessary tweet criticizing the board and his ongoing fitness concerns.

Fakhar Zaman is currently playing in the T20 Champions Trophy, a domestic tournament in Pakistan. In his absence, Saim Ayoub has performed exceptionally well at the top for the Men in Green.

Fakhar has been a constant figure in Pakistani white-ball teams over the years. He has the ability to hit the ball hard on the powerplay to give his team a great start. He will be eyeing a place in Pakistan’s 2025 Champions Trophy squad.