Pakistan's opening batter Ahmed Shehzad expressed disappointment over Abdullah Shafique's prolonged batting slump during the ongoing ODI series against South Africa.
Taking to the social media platform 'X,' Shehzad questioned Shafique's inclusion, saying: "Third consecutive duck for Abdullah Shafique. Where is Fakhar Zaman?"
Shafique's struggles have reached a historic low as he registered his third consecutive duck, earning a spot among players with this unwanted record.
In the series opener, the 25-year-old was dismissed for a duck on his fourth delivery. He followed it up with a second-ball duck in the second ODI and a first-ball duck in the final match.
Shafique now joins an infamous list of Pakistani players with three consecutive ducks in ODIs, which includes Shoaib Mohammad, Shadab Kabir, Mohammad Wasim, Shoaib Malik, and Salman Butt.
The right-handed batter also set another unwanted record in 2024.
With seven ducks across all international formats this year, Shafique has surpassed Imran Nazir (6 ducks in 32 innings in 2000) and Mohammad Hafeez (6 ducks in 43 innings in 2012) for the most ducks by a Pakistani player in a calendar year. Remarkably, Shafique achieved this in just 21 innings.
Fakhar was one of the most notable absentees from Pakistan’s white-ball squads for the recently-concluded white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe, respectively.
Last month, Pakistan’s interim white-ball head coach Aqib Javed, when probed about Fakhar’s selection for the upcoming South Africa tour, claimed that the southpaw was having ‘some fitness problems’.
"Fakhar is a match-winner, he has performed for Pakistan for many years. He was having some fitness problems,” shared Aqib.
Javed had also shared that the national selection committee was in touch with Fakhar and he would be selected upon achieving fitness.
“We are in communication with Fakhar. Whenever he gets fit, the selection committee will definitely consider him for selection and you’ll see him [playing] in the future,” he added.
Later, reports emerged that Fakhar was among key players being considered for white-ball series against South Africa.
However, he failed to make it to the white-ball squads for the forthcoming tour and Javed, in a statement, released by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), cited his fitness as the reason behind his exclusion.
“Fakhar Zaman was not considered as he is yet to regain form and match fitness,” Javed was quoted by the PCB.
For the unversed, Fakhar's last appearance for the green shirts came during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 in June.
- Abdullah Shafique
- Ahmed Shehzad