Fakhar Zaman during World Cup 2023 (Source: AFP Photos)Fakhar Zaman made headlines once again on Tuesday in the National Champions Cup 2026 opener between Pakistan Green and Pakistan White, which took place at Multan’s National Cricket Stadium. His explosive 104-ball 123, which had 18 fours and two sixes, shut the critics who questioned his calibre just because he is now 36 years old.World Cup 2027 is just over a year away, and Pakistan, if they want to pull off something exceptional, still rely on a veteran Fakhar Zaman for success.With the likes of Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, or even a young sensation like Maaz Sadaqat coming up, along with Abdullah Shafique waiting on the wings, it would be only the Men in Green’s loss if they decide to write off Fakhar Zaman’s existence for World Cup 2027.Why and how? Let’s dig dip into the details to find out the answers.Fakhar Zaman Thrives More In Away ConditionsHistorically, Pakistan batters have the habit of making big scores at home but fail whenever they face big challenges in away conditions. However, for Fakhar, it works in a very opposite way.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableHomeSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAwaySelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table29SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table31SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table1220SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table1632SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table43.57SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table60.44SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table100.86SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table96.96SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table[Fakhar Zaman ODI Stats, As Of August 2026]To shed more light, Fakhar had three ODI centuries and seven half-centuries in Pakistan. However, away from home, Fakhar has six hundreds and seven half-centuries.Also Read: Pakistan's 2017 Champions Trophy Winning Team And Where Are They Now?Notably, these numbers don’t include neutral venues, for example, his previous records in ICC events outside Pakistan.Fakhar Stands Tall In World Cup 2027 Hosts' BackyardsFor those who are still unaware, the World Cup 2027 will be played mainly in South Africa, with some matches in Zimbabwe and Namibia. Usually, these countries are challenging for the batters, but Fakhar has done exceptionally well in the past whenever he has had the opportunity to play there.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableIn South AfricaSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableIn ZimbabweSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table5SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table469SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table515SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table58.62SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table257.5SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table100.86SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table111.47SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table[Fakhar Zaman ODI Stats, As Of August 2026]Moreover, Fakhar has had quite a few memorable ODI knocks. Two of them came in South Africa and Zimbabwe: a 155-ball 193 in Johannesburg and an unbeaten 156-ball 210 in Bulawayo.Why Fakhar Is Still Pakistan’s Best Bet To Open At World Cup 2027As mentioned above, Pakistan have quite a few options for opening the batting in the World Cup 2027. However, none of them has anything significant in their ODI profile thus far to go beyond Fakhar Zaman for the responsibilities.Let’s begin with Abdullah Shafique, who recently hogged a lot of limelight after a sensational return to the set-up. However, when it comes to performing in ODIs in South Africa and Zimbabwe, his numbers look drastically poor.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableIn South AfricaSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableIn ZimbabweSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table3SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table0SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table83SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table0SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table41.5SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table0SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table68.59SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table[Abdullah Shafique ODI Stats, As Of August 2026]For Saim Ayub, his graph for Pakistan went to the next level when he came into the mix not so long back. However, in 2025, it dropped significantly, as the ODI numbers suggest.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableIn 2025SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table8SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table236SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table29.5SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table89.73SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table[Saim Ayub ODI Stats]Sahibzada Farhan might have a superb start for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game, coupled with a spectacular T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, but his ODI numbers so far do not give him much hope for their fans to guarantee his place for World Cup 2027.Similar story is for Maaz Sadaqat as well, although he has not made that much of attention like Farhan so far in his international career.CriterionSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableSahibzada FarhanSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableMaaz SadaqatSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableInningsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table6SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table6SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableRunsSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table101SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table134SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableAverageSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table16.83SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table22.33SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete TableStrike RateSelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table75.93SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table111.66SelectAdd Row AboveAdd Row BelowAdd Column RightAdd Column LeftDelete RowDelete ColumnDelete Table[Sahibzada Farhan & Maaz Sadaqat ODI Stats, As Of August 11, 2025]ConclusionAs the numbers tell the story, there is no one better than Fakhar Zaman to set the tone for Pakistan at the top during World Cup 2027. Amid his frequent injury setbacks of late, probably due to his age, there is no drawback from Fakhar’s end.Therefore, Pakistan should not dare to write off Fakhar for World Cup 2027 if they actually set high goals to do what they did in 1992.Also Read: Bangladesh Match-Winners Who Can Stun Australia
.jpg?type=mq "Bangladesh Match-Winners Who Can Stun Australia")
