The Fakhar Zaman Factor: Why Pakistan’s World Cup 2027 Dream Rest On His Shoulders

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 Conditions

Historically, 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.

[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.

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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' Backyards

For 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.

[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 2027

As 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.

[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.

[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.

[Sahibzada Farhan & Maaz Sadaqat ODI Stats, As Of August 11, 2025]

Conclusion

As 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.

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