Fakhar Zaman backs injured Saim Ayub to bounce back and be among 'top three players in the world'

Fakhar insists he will be part of Pakistan’s title defence at Champions Trophy next month, and hopes young star Ayub will be there too, as he prepares for ILT20 in UAE

Pakistan batsman Fakhar Zaman has backed Saim Ayub to bounce back from injury and establish himself as one of the world’s top three batters.

Ayub, 22, has enjoyed a sensational start to his professional career, but he suffered an ankle fracture in Pakistan’s Test match against South Africa in Cape Town last week.

The injury is set to rule him out of action for six weeks. It makes him a doubt for Pakistan’s squad when they bid to retain the Champions Trophy next month.

Fakhar has himself been absent from national duty for Pakistan since the T20 World Cup in the USA and Caribbean last June.

He is now in Dubai gearing up for his debut DP World International League T20 campaign with his new franchise, the Desert Vipers.

He is targeting a comeback to Pakistan colours for the Champions Trophy, which will be staged in part on home soil, with India’s matches set to be played in Dubai.

He insists his return will happen whether or not Ayub returns to fitness in time.

“Saim is such a great talent,” Fakhar said. “Even if he was fit or he was not in the team, I would have been there in the team.

“I spoke to the selectors, the head coach and everybody wanted me in the Champions Trophy so it is not the case [they were vying for the same spot].

“I hope and believe he will recover quickly, and I was thinking yesterday to call Saim just to talk to him about this injury.

“Believe me, he is such a great player that if he continues to play for the next four to five years, he will be at the top and he will be the No 1, 2 or 3 player in the world.”

Fakhar might be 12 years senior to Ayub, but the 34 year-old opener is confident he still has plenty to give his national team himself.

“A hundred percent I will play for Pakistan [again],” Fakhar said. “Actually, many people do not know about that, but after the T20 World Cup I got sick and because of the medical condition I was not fit, so I was not a part of the team.

“But now I recovered 100 percent, and you will see me in the next international series which Pakistan plays.”

Fakhar first came to prominence in the Pakistan Super League when the initial seasons of that T20 competition were played in the UAE due to security concerns back at home.

He subsequently graduated to the full Pakistan side. His finest moment to date in their colours was when he made a match-winning hundred against India in the final at The Oval in London when the Champions Trophy was last played in 2017.

Given his affinity with that competition, he was always hopeful of making it to the Pakistan squad as the tournament returns after an eight-year hiatus next month.

“My plan has been around the Champions Trophy,” he said. “I did not play in the Australia tour or in the South Africa tour, so my whole plan was just to play in the Champions Trophy to make myself available and to be fully fit for the tournament.

“That was in the back of my mind, and I am thankful, and I am lucky to be fit right now. I started from the Champions Trophy 2017 and that went really well for me and now I am very excited for the next edition also.”

Fakhar will be returning to venues he knows well when he plays at the ILT20, having first cut his teeth in franchise cricket here with Lahore Qalandars in the PSL.

He is the second Pakistani in the Vipers side this season, joining another of the stars from that 2017 Champions Trophy win, Mohammed Amir.

Last season, the side also employed three other Pakistanis - Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Azam Khan – and Tom Moody, their director of cricket, was happy to add the “true match-winner” Fakhar ahead of the new campaign.

“They talk really highly about this team, the environment, the management, the way they play the cricket and the way their mindset is,” Fakhar said of the feedback he received from his compatriots about the Vipers.

“So, when I got the offer, without any discussion with anyone, I said ‘yes, I would love to play for this team.’

“I was really excited and, to be honest, I was supporting this team even before I was a part of this, so I am really excited to be here and I am very happy.”