Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra said Fakhar Zaman could be a weak link in Pakistan’s top order in World Cup 2023 as well. The mega event will be played in India from October 5 to November 19. Notably, Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals in the 2019 edition of the tournament and he will hope to do better this time as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Fakhar Zaman – more than 3000 runs at an average of 48 in 72 matches. Three of his 10 centuries have come in Asia. His average actually falls in Asia. It becomes 38.9 and that actually tells you that maybe it’s spin. He throws his wicket against spin quite a few times. So Fakhar Zaman could be that slight weak link. Imam-ul-Haq – 61 matches, 2871 runs at an average of 52. His average jumps to 56 in Asia. Three of his nine centuries have come in Asia. Imam-ul-Haq is a good player. Babar Azam comes after them. He is brilliant in this format. More than 5000 runs in 102 matches. His average becomes nearly 64 in Asia and is 58.4 otherwise.”
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However, Aakash Chopra added that Babar Azam’s strike rate of nearly 90 might be slightly low. He further added that the Pakistan captain is likely to bat steadily as the likes of Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz can come and accelerate the innings later. While talking about Australia, Aakash Chopra said David Warner, Travis Head and Steve Smith could be their top three as well.
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“They have plenty of options. I am going with David Warner. He has an average of 45 in 142 games. However, only three of his 19 hundreds have come in Asia and the average of 45 comes down to 36. He hits a lot in T20 cricket in these conditions. He goes absolutely down in Tests and his numbers are not looking very good in ODIs. Travis Head – an average of 40 overall and 38 in Asia. One of his three centuries has come in Asia. It’s not been a very big career. Steve Smith – an average of 44 in his ODI career, only two of his 12 centuries have come in Asia and the average reduces to 39,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
