Fakhar Zaman breaks silence on T20I retirement speculations

KARACHI: Renowned Pakistan batter and Lahore Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman on Monday broke his silence on speculations about his retirement from T20 International cricket.

Zaman, who has been a key performer both for Pakistan and in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), clarified that he has no plans to end his T20I career.

The left-hander revealed that he had briefly considered retiring after the conclusion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which was hosted in India and Sri Lanka. However, he has since decided against it.

“After the World Cup, I had decided to retire from T20 cricket. However, I no longer intend to retire and want to finish my T20 career on a high note,” Zaman stated.

It is pertinent to mention that the 35-year-old has been a standout performer for the Green Shirts in the T20I format, having played 120 matches and scored 2,494 runs at an impressive strike rate of 132.51, including 14 fifties.

He has also excelled for Lahore Qalandars in the PSL, representing the franchise for the 11th consecutive season.

So far, he has played 99 matches, scoring 3,018 runs at a strike rate of 141.82, which includes 24 fifties and two centuries.

Recently, Fakhar was charged with a Level 3 offence under Article 2.14 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel for allegedly breaching Article 41.3 of the playing conditions, which prohibits any action that alters the condition of the ball, during Lahore Qalandars’ PSL 11 match against arch-rivals Karachi Kings on March 29.

Consequently, he was handed a two-match ban after match referee Roshan Mahnama conducted a disciplinary hearing, following a thorough review of all evidence and providing Fakhar an opportunity for a personal hearing.

Fakhar, who denied the allegations throughout the process, had requested a full disciplinary hearing under the PSL Code of Conduct.

However, the Pakistan Super League Technical Committee dismissed his plea to review the suspension. Today, the committee, comprising Professor Javed Malik, Dr Mumraiz Naqshband, and Mr Syed Ali Naqi, upheld the two-match ban after reviewing all evidence and hearing submissions from relevant parties.

Click here to read article