Fakhar Zaman

Fakhar Zaman (born 10 April 1990) is a Pakistani international cricketer who plays for the Pakistan national cricket team.

He also plays for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.

Zaman was born on 10 April 1990 in Katlang in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa into a Pashtun family.

He moved to Karachi at the age of 16 following matriculation.

He also became the second batsman to reach 2000 runs in PSL.

His contributions led Qalandars to winning the second PSL title in a row.

In 2007, Zaman joined the Pakistan Navy as a sailor after receiving his schooling and training at sea from the Pakistan Navy School, Bahadur.

His choice of career was persuaded by his father, who was dissuaded by Fakhar's childhood addiction to cricket and wanted his son to focus on his academics.

The name Fakhar literally translates to "pride".

Amongst his teammates, he is known by the nickname fauji (soldier).

In 2012, he represented the navy in the International Defence Cricket Challenge Cup in Australia and was named best player of the tournament.

In 2013, he left his naval career after a "tough decision" in pursuit of this dream and began appearing for regional outfits like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abbottabad Falcons, Balochistan and several Karachi teams.

He became the second-highest run scorer in the 2016 Pakistan Cup and also impressed selectors in the 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

He was soon noticed by Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur during a training camp in Lahore, following which he earned a call-up for the national side.

Zaman rose to fame after a success with his century in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, where in the final, he was the man of the match with his innings of 114 runs off 106 balls against India.

In August 2017, he was named in Durban Qalandars' squad for the first season of the T20 Global League.

However, in October 2017, Cricket South Africa initially postponed the tournament until November 2018, with it being cancelled soon after.

Zaman was picked by the Lahore Qalandars side for the 2017 Pakistan Super League, where he was closely mentored by New Zealand player Brendon McCullum.

In his first three seasons, he experienced consistent setbacks as Lahore ended at the bottom of the league table each time, failing to qualify for the knockouts.

On 20 July 2018, he became the first batsman for Pakistan to score a double century in a One Day International (ODI) match.

After two days, he became the fastest batsman to score 1,000 runs in ODIs.

In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

On 4 April 2021, while chasing against South Africa in the second ODI, Zaman scored 193 before being run out by Quinton de Kock.

His 193 became the highest individual score while chasing in an ODI surpassing the 185 scored by Shane Watson against Bangladesh.

Zaman also knocked out Imran Nazir's record by hitting 11 sixes against New Zealand on 4 November 2023, making Pakistan victorious.

Individually, he delivered decent performances, totalling 739 runs, including a match winning performance of 94 runs in 2018.

In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Rotterdam Rhinos in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.

However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.

In January 2021, he was named in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's squad for the 2020–21 Pakistan Cup.

In December 2022, he was signed by the Khulna Tigers for the 2022–23 Bangladesh Premier League.

Later in 2020, the navy awarded him the honorary rank of Lieutenant, in recognition of his contribution to cricket.

In Karachi, he continued playing cricket occasionally in inter-departmental matches, including representations for the Pakistan Navy cricket team.

He was first identified by his navy coach, Azam Khan, who encouraged him to pursue professional cricket.

He saw more success in the 2020 season of the PSL, ending the tournament as the second highest run scorer.

His performance played a crucial role in Qalandar's journey to the finals, although they ultimately lost to Karachi Kings.

Zaman was released by Qalandars before the 2022 PSL, although he was picked up again in the drafts.

He led Qalandars to their first PSL title in 2022.

He concluded the season as the highest run scorer, surpassing Babar Azam's record for scoring the most runs and achieving the most 50 plus scores in a single season.

In the same season, he also scored his first PSL century against Karachi Kings.

In the following season, he scored his second PSL century against Islamabad United on 9 March 2023.